


Longing Of The Lost

by Nique02



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Fontcest, M/M, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:46:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29469669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nique02/pseuds/Nique02
Summary: Red knew that his feelings for Boss were unnatural and unhealthy. He had understood and resigned himself to never telling the other of his unrequited desires. But when Boss gets into a relationship with Blue it is almost too much for Red to handle. He feels himself breaking and falling apart. That is Until Red accidentally falls into another AU, where a skeleton that looks very similar to his brother is more than happy to pick up his broken pieces.(This is more of a stress relief piece for me. Something I can work on here and there.)
Relationships: Angst - Relationship, Blue/Boss, Blue/Stretch, Boss/Red, Papyrus/Sans (Undertale), Red/Edge
Comments: 33
Kudos: 52





	1. Unrequited feelings

Red supposed it was wrong. The feelings that he housed for his bother Boss, feelings that passed the line of the family. It was dangerous and dark, these emotions that Red kept buried in the deepest recess of his mind. He loved his brother, loved him more than anything. Heck, thoughts of Boss were the one thing that had kept Red going through all the resets and endless battles with the human. 

Red understood that Boss would never love him back. They were brothers, and to ask Boss to reciprocate his sick and twisted feelings would be beyond selfish. That is why Red never said anything, it was better that he spared his younger brother the knowledge that Red was even more disgusting and horrible than Boss had originally thought. But even if he could not be with Boss in the passionate sense, Red would do anything for his brother. 

Red felt that he had proven this fact on multiple occasions. Wearing a collar outside of the house so that the whole underground could see that Boss owned him. Putting up with public forms of humiliating punishment and physical abuse to display to other monsters that he had a master. Putting on a smile while Boss sullied Red’s reputation with degrading comments to his face. Red even went as so far as to allow Boss to yank him around on a leash like some type of lowly animal. Red would do everything to make Boss happy even if that meant suffer abuse and house his unrequited love in silence. 

Red would never claim that this was healthy or even mentally stable behavior. But it was their dynamic and Red knew that as long as he could be near Boss, he was happy. Or at least that was how Red felt until they came… Or rather more specifically HE came.  
Red had no idea how it happened or even how it had begun. It made no sense to him at all. Blue was so bubbly and bright, with no real idea of how cruel the world could be. While Boss grew up in that cruelty, he grew and adapted to become the ultimate powerful person he was today. They were exact opposites that came from two completely different worlds. Both figuratively and literally. The bubbly version of Red had never really known true pain, nor had he ever had to fight for his life on the daily. 

It was difficult at times for Red to even look at his counterpart. After all, if Red had grown up in a different environment would he have turned out as bright, happy, senseless, naive, and blind? Blue filled Red with feelings of frustration and longing at the same time. Longing for a kinder underground, a place where Boss would have been able to grow up without any fear of getting dusted or hurt. Where their dynamic could have been that of actual brothers instead of this abusive twisted relationship that they had constructed.

But when Boss had taken Blue as his Date mate. Red could hardly stand it, watching his brother walk around with someone who looked almost identical to him. Caressing and holding Blue close in public for all the underground to see. Laying gentle and sweet kisses on the other's skull with no hesitation. It was like the universe was laughing at Red’s expense. But the final straw was when Red and Boss had found out that Blue was dating Stretch as well as Boss. Red had expected Boss to get angry proceeded to break up with Blue, and then even go so far as to physically throw the other out of their Universe. 

But Boss had ACCEPTED Blue’s and Stretches’ stupid relationship! He had tolerated their liaison and continued to date Blue. Boss did not think that their coupling was disgusting! He was fine with it. Red swore he felt cracks forming upon his very soul when this occurred. It had been one thing when Boss was dating a different version of Red. After all they were brothers and there were no other skeleton monsters around. So, it made sense that Boss would fall for the next best thing that he came across like Blue. But to find out that he was ok with the idea of the two brothers being together romantically. It made Red’s mouth fill with acidic and putrid magic. From what Red could understand Boss and Stretch were not dating, they were simply sharing Blue. The greedy little Blue bastard already has his own brother, but apparently, that was not enough for him.

It started gradually at first, but Boss did not spend as much time with Red anymore. If he was not busy being captain of the guard all his free time went to Blue. There were times that Boss would not come home for days leaving Red in an empty and cold house. Boss was almost permanently living at Blue’s house at this point.

Red could not wrap his mind around it. It just did not make sense to him. Why did Blue have to come here and take his brother? His Papyrus!? Blue had his own, he was already loved and cared about by his own brother! So why did the Blue bastard need to come and snag what belonged to RED!?


	2. Visit

Red paced back in forth in his cold and barren living room. It had been half a month and Boss had not come back from Blue’s AU. Red was sure that his brother was perfectly fine. There was nothing in that fluffy cotton candy Au that could ever hurt Boss. But two weeks without seeing skull or eye light of his brother was beginning to wear on Red. He missed his brother and wanted him back. Even if it was only for a little bit, Red would settle for just a few days of having Boss back home. Even if Red had to pretend to be ok and suffer through mistreatment. At least his brother would be home and the house not so cold or quiet.

That was how Red had found himself here in front of the machine. He knew that it would upset Boss if he just showed up without warning. But he really needed to see his brother. Even just for a small amount of time… Even for just an hour…. Red just missed him so much and wanted him back. Was that too much to ask for?

Making up his mind and gritting his teeth Red proceeded to put in the coordinates to Underswap. Red was attempting to keep his thoughts hopeful. Boss had not seen Red in quite a long time. Maybe he would not be to upset with Red’s abrupt and unplanned visit? Gazing up at the machine with his mind racing Red jumped in. 

Red’s landing had not been as graceful as he had originally hoped. He had landed face first in the snow with the grace of a drunken Undyne. Sitting up rubbing his skull and groaning he looked at his peaceful surroundings. The quiet in underswap never ceased to amaze him, it was a true testament to the peace that this AU housed. In underfell it was always noisy with some form of conflict, flighting, or yelling. Gathering himself Red began to make the trek to Blue and Stretches’ house. 

Standing on the porch in front of the eerily similar house. Red took a deep breath before knocking. Blue was the one who answered the door a wide smile on his face that seemed to droop slightly when he saw Red gracing his doorstep. “Oh, Red you decided to Stop by. How nice, we were not expecting company. I’m sorry that I don’t have any food prepared to offer you.” 

“Oh yeah, just wanted to check on my bro. Its been a little while and a lot of the other residents are asking about him.” For a moment Red swore that Blue’s eye had a strange glint reflected in them. But Blue’s happy demeanor had snapped back so quickly that Red figured he had just imagined it. 

“Of course! Come right in, Papyrus and I just finished training. He is currently in the shower, but I am sure he will be out in a second. Please take a seat while I get you some tea.” Blue guided Red into the house that was almost identical to his and Boss’s. The similarities never ceased to put Red on edge. It was just strange, like some sort of bizarre play. One where the monsters and the surroundings were flipped and placed backward. Like looking at your reflection through a funhouse mirror. It was you but distorted and twisted in the oddest of aspects. 

“Oh, no problem I’ll just wait for him to come out.” Red sat down in the chair that Blue motioned towards. Attempting to look cool and collected in his uncomfortable surroundings. 

“So, how have you been?” Blue placed a cup of steaming tea in front of Red a warm smile on his face. He sat down in the chair that was directly across from Red. Placing his skull on top of both of his blue gloved hands.

“I have been good thanks. How are things with you?” Red gave a small nervous smile at the other. If he were anything but benevolent towards his Blue counterpart, he knew that Boss would have a fit. 

“Wonderful! Having Papyrus around has really livened the place up! I am so happy that he comes to stay over so often!” Blue’s eyes took on a fond gaze as he stared off over Red’s shoulder into the distance, seemingly mind elsewhere thoughts clearly on Red’s brother. It made Red’s nonexistence gut wretch whenever Blue called Boss Papyrus. It just seemed so twisted that Blue could call his brother by his name. Meanwhile Red had to call him Boss, like some stranger or underling. 

“Y-Yah, he seems to really enjoy it over here.” Red’s smile was tense as his voice cracked. He did his best not to squeeze the tea cup he was holding in fear of breaking it. 

It was then that their awkward small talk was broken by Boss walking out of the shower a towel draped loosely around his waist. “RED, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE?” 

Red’s smile became more strained as he gazed upon Boss’s naked ribs. Hoping that no one had noticed the expression of longing on his face, Red quickly looking away at the floor. Wiping the sweat that he had unconsciously formed off his skull, Red shakily answered. “W-Well Boss you haven’t been around for a while. Undyne was asking about where you were, and I thought I would just come to check on you. I think she is considering going after the position of captain again since you have been gone so long.” 

“PSH, AS IF SHE COULD EVER TAKE THE POSITION OF CAPTIAN BACK FROM ME. RED YOU SHOULDN’T SHOW UP TO OTHER PEOPLES HOUSES UNANNOUNCED LIKE THIS. I THOUGHT I HAD TRAINED YOU BETTER!?” Boss stood glaring at Red his teeth clenched in anger at his brother's lack of manners. Red could not bring himself to meet his brother’s harsh gaze.

Red had to swallow the words and protests that rose in his throat. After all, how often did Blue just show up at their house with no warning even before Boss and he had become date mates? Boss had never complained about that! “Y-Yah, your right Boss I should have tried to call or something.” 

“Oh, Papyrus I really don’t mind. It is a pleasure to have Red around!” Blue had walked over to the half-naked Boss and threw his arms around the other’s towel-covered hips. 

“YOUR'RE TO KIND FOR YOUR OWN GOOD BLUE. YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST KICKED RED OUT THE MOMENT HE SHOWED UP.” Papyrus had bent down allowing for Blue to nuzzle him in a type of skeleton kiss. 

Red ground his teeth at those harsh words. Was this really how you treated your big brother who went so far as to visit a completely different universe just to check on you? But Red knew that saying so would just escalate into a fight so he held his bitter emotions back. “So, uh, Boss are you going to come home anytime soon?” This is not how Red had wanted their reunion to go. With Blue present taking up all of Boss’s attention and Boss half naked with only a towel coving his decency. 

“RED I WILL COME HOME WHEN IT SUITS ME. I DO NOT NEED, NOR DO I WANT YOU COMING HERE TO CHECK ON ME AND BOTHER BLUE IN THE PROCESS.” Boss straightened up and scowled at Red. As if just the act of simply asking the question had offended him. 

“Ok, Boss.” Red had looked up in hopes of getting an answer that his brother would be returning soon. But upon meeting eye lights with Boss’s angry frowning face, he quickly looked down at the floor again. 

It was then that Blue leaned over with a seductive smile on his face. His sockets half-lidded reflecting glowing heart shaped eye lights. Blue’s hand began to grope and stroke the back of Boss’s naked lower spine. He lowly whispered something into Boss’s ear hole. A red blush spread across Boss’s skull as he quickly proceeded to yell at Red. “SINCE YOU HAVE SHOWED UP UNANNOUNCED. I HAVE FOUND MYSELF INCONVENIENCE, I HAD PREMADE PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE. IT IS TIME THAT YOU LEAVE.”

“But B-Boss I just got here! Can’t we talk a bit?” It had hardly been ten minutes since Red had set foot in underswap. 

It was then that Blue butted into the conversation, his voice dripping with remorse, “I’m sorry Red! We were not expecting you! If we had known you were coming over, we would not have made plans! But do not worry I will ask Pappy to walk you back to the machine. Originally, I am sure that your brother Papyrus would do it. But since he is still in a state of undress, I am sure that Pappy would have no problem escorting you!”


	3. Dismissed

For the most part Stretch and Red walked together in silence. Until they reached an area that no other monsters around. Stretch looked at Red with a contemplating expression on his face, “Hey, you are the judge of your underground, right?” 

Red not stopping in his walking or fully turning to look at the other, gave Stretch a side glance. It was a rather abrupt topic to bring up. All San’s were aware of the position of being a judge and all that it entailed. Red had never really thought about it too much before. However, now that he contemplated it Blue did not seem like judge material so that could only mean one thing. “Yeah, why do you ask? I am assuming that you are the judge of this one?” 

Stretch gave a lazy smile, lighting up a cigarette and taking a deep puff, “Yah, though it’s kind of surprising that someone as lazy as me can be the judge.” 

Red now kept his eyes forward, only half interested in the topic at hand. His mood was rather sour due to the short interaction he had with Boss. “It’s because your underground is so lax, other than the human there is no real danger here. You are allowed to be the way you are because of that. I am lazy myself, but that is mostly a front I put on so that no one in my AU gets suspicious of what I am.” 

“Hmmmm, I suppose that makes sense… Mind if I ask you a question?” Stretch looked up at the ceiling of the cave arms behind his head cigarette hanging limply from his teeth. 

“Didn’t you already ask one?” Red kicked a snow pile that was in his way. “I suppose one more won’t hurt. But it depends on the question.” 

“Why do you let your brother treat you like this? It makes sense for me or a regular old Sans not to tell their brother about being the judge. It would only make them worry unnecessarily. But in your underground, there are no downsides to revealing that information. If anything, it would put you on top of the metaphorical food chain. You would never have to be worried about being treated as a lesser being ever again.” At this point Stretch had stopped walking and was looking at Red with open curiosity. 

Red gave a humorless sharp-toothed smile, “I don’t tell Boss for the same reason that you eat your brother’s tacos without telling him the truth of how they taste. Boss has worked hard to become what he is. To become one of the strongest monsters in the underground that everyone fears so that he could protect us. If I tell him that his lazy slob of a brother that can barely get out of bed in the morning and never puts effort into anything is actually the all-powerful judge. There is no telling how he would react. But I can say that it would more than likely not be good.” 

“I guess I could see that.” Stretch seemed to be mulling over Red’s words carefully. Seeing that Red was now quite a bit ahead of him Stretch sped up a little in order to catch up. 

“How about I ask a question now hm? It's only fair since you asked me two rather personal ones.” Red did not look back at Stretch but he knew that the other had caught back up to him. 

Stretch looked up in interest at Red curious as to what he might ask. “Yeah, sure shoot.” 

“Are you ok with all of this? Sharing your brother with another Papyrus of all things? Does it not bother you at all? Boss basically lives here now, that has to trouble you just a bit.” Red turned around his face completely neutral, eye lights extinguished. 

“Oh, wow that’s more than two questions.” Stretch gave a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his skull. But seeing Red’s serious expression he quickly decided to answer. “Truthfully, I was not thrilled at the prospect of Blue wanting to be with your brother. I had never considered being in a polyamory relationship and did not want to share Blue with anyone. Especially someone like Boss who has clearly had a rough and violent life as proven by his LoVe.” Stretch saw that Red bristled at that and quickly cut in before the other could begin to argue. “Don’t get me wrong, after seeing your underground I completely understood why his level is as high as it is. It's honestly nothing personal, he did what he had to do to survive and I respect that. But you have met Blue, he is the most innocent Sans that there is. He has never had to face the true harsh realities of life. I was worried that Boss would open his eyes to the real world so to speak. But Blue came to me crying, pleading, and begging that I agree with the idea of him taking Boss as his date mate. I won't lie it did bother me a bit that he was a Papyrus like myself. At times it makes me feel that I am not enough for Blue. Like he needed to go out and look for another Papyrus because I was not sufficient. But in the end, I could not say no to him. I wanted to protect his smile, even if that means having to share him. Having Boss around is not so bad… It can be frustrating since he takes up a lot of Blue’s time. But he makes Blue happy so I can deal with it.”

“Huh, you really love your brother…” Red gazed at Stretch as if seeing him for the first time, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Well, it's only fair that since you asked me three questions, I get to ask you one more.” “What is your relationship with Boss?” 

“What do you mean? He is my brother, that’s all we will ever be.” Red kept walking avoiding making eye contact with Stretches piercing gaze. Not because he was in any way shape or form intimidated but because this was a topic Red would rather avoid completely. 

“But you want more.” Stretch did not word it as a question but rather a statement. “I can see it in the way you gaze at him when he isn’t looking at you. You clearly love him, and not in just the brotherly way.” 

“Perceptive, aren’t you? I guess you are a judge after all. Maybe once upon a time. Before things changed. It does not matter though since he does not feel the same way about me. Boss does not, nor has he ever viewed me in that way. I am just his weak useless older brother and that is all he will ever see me as.” Red’s voice became cold and his sockets took on an empty dead appearance. Normally he would not be so open with another. But Red and Stretch had an unspoken understanding. They both wanted to protect their brothers. They were both judges, and they both suffered through the never-ending loop of resets.

“But you aren’t weak. You could become the most powerful being in your underground with just the snap of your fingers.” Stretch gave Red a knowing look, one that had many unsaid emotions behind it. “Hey, I will talk to Blue about letting you and Boss spend more time together. I know that Boss has not been home lately, and I’m sure it’s a bit lonely back in your AU without him. I’ll ask Blue to convince him to spend more time at home. If I tell Blue I am feeling a bit neglected he will send Boss back for a few days.” 

“Nah, don’t bother. Boss will be grumpy and miserable if he is forced to come back home. It's better if he just comes back when he wants. The house is not that lonely. It's kind of nice being able to lay around and not have anyone screaming at you to do things.” Red grit his teeth as the lie left his mouth. Deep down he knew that there was no point in fibbing. But he was grateful that Stretch had decided not to call him out on his obvious lie. You cannot lie to a judge, after all, they know the moment the words leave you, if it is the truth or not. “But let me ask you something else before I go. Why did Blue make you accompany me? I am not a fool, I do not need a chaperone and I am sure that you would rather be doing almost anything else.” 

Stretch looked away as if a bit uncomfortable by the question. Which surprised Red considering how personal they had been getting with their inquiries into each other’s lives only a few seconds earlier. “I think… I think maybe my bro had two reasons. He probably wanted some alone time with your brother, and this was the easiest way for him to get me out of the house without being painfully obvious about it. But if I had to guess about the second reason… Red, Blue has also seen the way you look at your bro. The longing and love that show on your face are obvious. Blue probably wanted to make absolutely sure that you left and went back to your AU.”

Red grit his teeth as sweat began to pour from his skull in rivulets. He had not realized that he had been that obvious. He thought that he had hidden his feelings well. Giving a bitter smile to the other, "Well, what now then? Are you going to tell my bro? Am I such a threat that your brother is going to ask you to be a guard dog and keep me out?" 

Stretch's eye lights took on a pitying look, "Nothing changes, I don't care what my bro says I would never keep you from your brother, I know for judges like us that's a fate worse than death. Just call before coming over next time. That way I can make sure that you can actually get some time in with Boss, and not be dismissed on sight like today." 

Red swallowed thickly, it was pathetic that he needed the help of another person just to be able to have more than a few minutes with this bro. "Your bro doesn't need to worry, I'm leaving now." 

"Red, don't be like that..." Stretch reached out his hand as if to grab the other but before he could Red had quickly put the coordinates into the machine and jumped in.


	4. Stranded

Red’s landing back in Underfell had been horrible. He had burst out of the machine in a shower of sparks and a loud boom. The force of his entrance had caused him to launch across the room and slam into the ground roughly. For a moment Red just lay face down on the ground stunned. It took him a few minutes before he was able to pick himself up and get a proper look at the machine. 

It was bad… There were loose sparking wires everywhere. The whole thing looked like it had taken a beating. There were parts strewn about that were definitely supposed to be inside of the machine and not on the floor. 

Jumping up and running over to the mess red began to yell, “Oh, nononononononono! What in the stars happened!?” 

Red attempted to reach out and grab one of the wires only to get a rough shock. Reflexively yanking his hand back and cursing. Red could only watch as the machine gave a dying stutter before all its lights went black. The wires that that once been sparking and waving around like snakes now laid limp and unmoving. How was Boss going to get back now!? What if he never got to see his younger brother ever again!? For a moment Red felt like the whole universe was crashing down on him. Why was everything going so wrong? First Boss chose Blue over him. Then Boss would not even give Red so much as a single hour of his time. On top of that Stretch basically told Red that everyone other than Boss himself already knew about Red’s secret feelings. Add to that the machine breaking down the moment Red busts out of it! Why was everything in his life falling apart!? 

Taking a deep calming breath Red held his skull in his hands. He needed to think about this logically. He needed to assess the situation with a clear mind. Yes, the machine was damaged, but this was not the first time it had been broken. Standing up once he felt more grounded Red took a second to really look at the machine and all the damage. It was for lack of a better word a mess… But the more Red studied the destruction, the more confident he felt. Red had fixed the machine once before and it had been just about as ravaged back then, as it currently was now. It was going to take a lot of work and might take a while to get everything back as it should be. But Red was confident that he would be able to repair it again. Boss would just have to stay in underswap for another two weeks, maybe another month at maximum. Not that Red really thought that his brother would mind that. 

Taking his phone out, Red was about to call Boss to tell him the news. When he noticed that the screen had a large crack in it, and wires were poking out through the back of the phone. Seeing that once again something else in his life went wrong Red let out a bitter laugh. Today had sucked, Red’s soul felt heavy and his mouth seemed to have a permanent bitter taste settled in it. It appeared that everything he had attempted to do today went wrong! The visit had been a disaster, nothing good came from any of it. After all the trouble Red went through, he still had no idea when Boss was coming home. On top of that, he got interrogated by Stretch during the whole walk back to the machine. Had his whole raw emotional wrecked self basically called out by the other judge. Then spit harshly back out into his own Au only to find that he had several days’ worth of work cut out for him because the machine decided to up and break! 

Red was in no condition to even attempt to lay hands on the machine right now. Deciding to go home and attempt to fix his thoroughly wreaked phone so that he could tell Boss what was going on. Red began to trek his way through the snow. His eye lights were blurry from fighting back tears of frustration. But Red never let them fall, it would be dangerous to do so, an open sign of weakness for others to see. Using the fresh crisp air, Red managed to calm down his frustration. It was not completely gone, but it was outweighed by the despondency that he felt. Finally seeing his house in the distance Red walked up to the door, forgoing the key he decided to just teleport inside. 

Red did not even bother looking around the dark interior of his home. After all the only thing that would greet him would be an empty house. He did not want to dwell on how hollow and barren his home had now become without his brother. All Red wanted to do was go upstairs and fall on his bed face first unmoving for the next several days. 

Or at least that had been the plan until Red just about jumped two feet in the air and almost sent bone attacks at his couch when something moved and groaned on it. Red watched eye light glowing and bone attacks at the ready as Boss sat up sleepy-eyed. It seemed that he had been clutching one of Red’s sweatshirts to his chest. 

“S-Sans is that you?” Boss’s words were spoken so softly and sounded so broken that Red had no idea what to say. His brother never used a soft tone, not since he was a baby bones This did not make any sense… He had just been talking to his brother not 20 minutes earlier. How on earth did Edge manage to get back before him? 

“Sans I can’t believe it! But how? Asgore told me that the human killed you and took your soul before leaving the underground. I saw your dust it was on your coat!” Boss had run over and quickly fallen to his knees in front of Red. He reached up his hands as if to caress the others face but had seemingly decided to grab Red in a full-body bone-crushing embrace instead. 

“B-Boss?” Red was to stunned and frightened of the other's behavior to attempt to move out of their hold. He had no idea why Boss was acting so weird, but it put Red on high alert.

“Boss? Why on earth are you calling me that?” Boss pulled away looking at Red with concern, gripping Red’s shoulders in a vice-like grasp he looked the shorter skeleton up and down. “Brother you haven’t called me boss in years. We stopped that long ago the moment Asgore deemed you to be the royal judge of the underground. We had no reason to keep that charade up anymore after that. All monsters knew better than to mess with you or me once your royal title was announced.” 

Red choked on air, “J-Judge!? What, how do you-” It was then that it clicked for Red. This was not his AU, this was some type of Undefell Au that was almost identical to his own but it was not his. “You are not my Papyrus…”


	5. Papyrus?

Pulling himself away from the Papyrus’s vice-like hug, but not completely out of their grasp. Red took a step back from the other skeleton and began to study them intently. Now that he paused and truly examined the new version of his brother, Red did notice some minuscule differences. There was no scar on the other’s socket, no iconic red scarf, and his eye lights were a bright deep purple rather than piercing red like Boss’s. It seemed that the Papyrus was doing the same thing because he quickly separated himself from Red as if burned. Feeling the cold air replace the warm touch of the other, made an odd heavy feeling settle in Red’s soul. 

“Wait, you are not Sans. Who are you!?” The Purple Eyed Papyrus was now glaring at red rather harshly. Ah, now this was the type of behavior that Red was more used too. Red could not help but notice that this skeleton despite the harshness of his voice did not speak in the booming ear-splitting way that Boss did.

Red held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender as he began to back away slowly from the now bewildered and indignant skeleton. “O-Ok, I know that this is weird. But hear me out… There is a perfectly good explanation for this I swear.” 

Getting up and walking backward a few steps the Papyrus summoned a sharpened bone construct aimed it at Red and glared bitterly. “You better start clarifying quickly then. How dare you impersonate the former royal judge of the underground! That is a crime worth dusting for!” 

Keeping a close eye on the sharpened end of the other’s weapon. Red quickly began to explain the best he could to the Boss copy the idea of the multiverse theory and the many different Au’s that were housed within it. Originally, Red would never waste his time doing something like this. He would normally just short-cut his way out of there and be done with the whole situation. But with the machine busted he was more or less stranded in this Au for the next few weeks. It would really help to have the monsters here assisting him rather than attempting to hunt him down as some sort of interdimensional freak. Once he was done with his explanation Red was sure that the Papyrus was going to attack him at any moment. But to Red’s surprised the other skeleton slowly lowered his weapon with a thoughtful look on their face. 

“So… Ugh, that’s it then…” Red was sweating bullets at this point. He knew from personal experience with his own Papyrus that even though the other looked calm they could change their demeanor at any moment and become physically vicious. The lowering of the weapon could just be a ruse to make Red drop his guard. 

“If it were any other monster that came into my home and began to spout such nonsense. I would dust them on the spot for such a ridiculous and stupid story. You are very fortunate that my brother told me of our father’s work. That he had been working on a machine when we were baby bones that would get us to the surface before he was dusted. I suppose your appearance is also proof of your testimony, you look like you could be my brother’s duplicate. It is well known in the underground that my brother and I were the only skeletons left.” The Papyrus dismissed his bone construct still studying the other’s appearance. “Do not misunderstand me, I still do not trust you. If you so much as twitch in the wrong direction I will dust you on the spot. Do I make myself clear?” 

Red gulped at that, he doubted that the other could actually dust him. Red would be long gone before the other could even reach him with an attack. But seeing someone who looked eerily like an exact clone of Boss threaten to dust him was rather disconcerting. Boss threatened Red with a lot of things but rarely did his brother ever threaten to dust him. With Red's one HP that was a scary possibility. “C-Crystal…” 

“Good so now that we have that all cleared up. Why are you here?” The Papyrus proceeded to stand up dust himself off and walk back to the couch. Taking a seat and leaning back in the cushions, he never took his eyes off Red for a single moment. It was like Red was being studied by a dangerous predator. 

Red could feel the sweat beading along his forehead, now came the messier part of things. “Yah, you see about that… I am in a bit of a bind. I pretty much got stranded here. The machine appears to have broken when I came through it.” 

“Oh, well that’s too bad for you then isn’t it.” The Papyrus was clearing giving off an air of this is not my problem.

“Thanks a lot Bos- I mean Papyrus.” Despite the obvious disadvantageous position he was in, Red could not hide the exasperation from his voice nor the frown that settled on his face.

“Oh, for star's sake! Just call me Edge! I do not like that someone who basically has my brother's face is calling me by the name Boss. You may not understand this but there are a lot of negative connotations and memories connected to that name.” Edge snapped at Red harshly, the other skeleton had called him by that title multiple times now and it was wearing on his nerves. 

“Oh, sure no problem Bo-Edge. You can call me Red.” Red gave a nervous laugh in response to the vivid glare that he received from the other. He wasn’t doing it on purpose! It was just that this Papyrus was the first one Red have ever met before that looked so much like his own brother. Other than the small differences that he had noted from earlier Boss and Edge could be identical twins! “By the way, the machine clearly wasn’t worked on like it should have been. In a way this is kind of your San’s fault too. He should have either completely deactivated or destroyed the machine, in which case I would never have been able to physically come thru it. Or should have fixed it, or at least attempted to work on it just a little bit. There is no doubt that I caused some damage coming thru it. But now that I think back on it, I am positive that the damage would not nearly have been as bad if your Sans had at least made an effort to repair it at little.”

“How DARE you-” How dare this random cur blame Edge’s deceased brother for his accidental presence here!  
Red quickly cut Edge off before he could begin to yell. “I am just saying that I wouldn’t be in such a bind if your Sans had attempted to fix it! Every other Sans in the multiverse attempts to fix the machine at least once in their lives. I just don’t understand why your Sans didn’t.”

“My brother had better things to do! He was the all-powerful hard-working royal judge of the underground. He had no time to mess with a frivolous machine!” Edge still had his metaphorical hackles raised, no one talked bad about his brother and lived to talk about it! 

Red paused, he had been so shocked at the odd turn of events that he had almost forgotten what had led him to realize this was not his AU in the first place. Deep in thought Red poke his next words softly. “So, that is why the machine broke so badly when I came through… Your brother never really worked on it because he was so busy with his duties as the judge of this underground. This is a world where the judge admits who he is to everyone...” 

“Yeah, what of it?” Edge looked at the other with a distrustful look, he was studying Red as if trying to figure out what he was getting at. 

“I have seen a bunch of different timelines, some nice, some harsh like my own, and some so horrible that there are no words to describe them. Yours is the only one out of any of them where the judge tells the underground who he is. In every other timeline, the Judge is kept a secret from every monster other than the king. Or depending who is still on the throne the queen.” Red spoke his words slowly as if trying to get Edge to understand the gravity of what he was saying. 

“What? That is insane… How do they do their duty then?” Edge sat up straighter no longer leaving back on the couch cushions. He appeared to be shocked and mildly horrified at the information he was given. 

Red looked away from the other, a feeling of shame and guilt filling his stomach. “Most judges… don’t really do what they are supposed to. They turn a blind eye to most of the negative actions and aspects of their undergrounds. They step in to help collect the souls of humans or if they are called on by the royal family. But that is about it.” 

The Papyrus in front of him appeared mortified by that information. Looking Red up and down in dread as if to see if he was joking or not. “What kind of…” His words trailed off as if he was unsure of what to even say. 

“Only so much blame can be put on the judges. Magic decides who the judge is. The monster in question does not have a choice in the matter. Not even royalty have a say in who is picked. Most monsters are afraid of what their brothers will think. Or how the other monsters around them will act, it could even put the judge’s family in danger if it is revealed who they are. It also makes it hard to have proper friendships or relationships with other monsters. Others are naturally wary of the judge; it is hard to act causal around a person that can see every single sin that you have ever committed in your life if they so choose.” Red could not help but feel a bit defensive, despite also being rather ashamed. 

Edge gave Red a calculating look, saying his next words carefully as if he were thinking very meticulously about what he was declaring. “I must admit that I never really thought about it that way. Sans was the judge not me, so he was the one who dealt with all this pressure on his shoulders. He raised me alone when he himself was still just a child. Struggling in a world that would rather stab us in our sleep than offer help to orphans. My brother took up the mantle of the judge with understanding as well as pride, but never carelessness. He made sure to be fair but stern, he wanted to improve the underground for the better. The whole underground respected him for what he was and his capabilities. Even then he never allowed for me to ride on his title, Sans demanded that I become strong in my own right. Pushing and me to become better and praising me in all my achievements. He cared for me and made sure that I was strong enough to protect myself even if he was not here. Because of this, I became the captain of the royal guard. After your explanation, I can understand some of your reasoning. But overall what I mostly see is cowardice.” 

Red could no longer look the other in the eye light. He quickly looked away, a pained look on his skull and shakily said his next words, “Your brother sounds like he was probably the best out of us all. He must have really loved you to do all of that.”  
Edge gave a nod a bitter smile stretching over his face, “Yes, I might be the coolest. But my brother was the most excellent.”  
Before he could stop the words from escaping Red found himself asking, “What happened to him? You said the human killed him and then left?” 

Edge’s face morphed into a distressed and hateful grimace, but it was not aimed at Red. “Yes… A human came down and killed Sans in cold blood in the judgment hall… There was no real warning. The human had seemed so peaceful. A true pacifist… They spared every single monster that they came across even managed to befriend some of them. But when they got to the judgment hall, they killed Sans, they had not been violent before that. So, it would seem that Sans was not ready for their attack. There was no sign of him even attempting to fight back. My brother was extremely powerful even if the human managed to beat him in a fight there should have at least been some sign that a battle took place. He must have passed judgment on them but since they had never killed before deemed them innocent. The human even spared Asgore after that… Later when I managed to talk to him. Asgore informed me that the human told him that they knew that they needed a boss monsters’ soul to get through the barrier. Sans was the first boss monster they came across after discovering this piece of information. They did not choose him specifically; he was just the first one they had come across. So, he was the one they decided to kill. They took the human souls and left the underground.” Edge’s voice had cracked a few times during his story but Red knew better than to comment on it. 

Red was rather taken back by this information. There should have been a reset if that was the case, “How long ago was this?” 

Edge picked up the sweatshirt that was beside him on the couch. Brushing the fabric with his fingers delicately as if it were the most precious thing in the world. His eye lights had gone black as his next words left his teeth, “Three months, it has been three months since my brother’s death.” 

Red flinched at that, three months was a long time. If a reset had not happened in three whole months then there was the very real possibility that the human really was gone… It would seem that the only reason this Au had not gone down the horror route was because the human had spared Asgore when they left the underground. If Asgore was still around making sure that food and supplies were being distributed properly then this underground still had a chance. “I… I am sorry.” 

Edge let out a bitter laugh, “Why? It is not your fault. You did not dust my brother. Thou you do look enough like him to cause me some discomfort. But I assume that is not something that you really have control of.” Edge sighed deeply and looked towards one of the windows, “Things have gotten worse since his dusting. The underground lost a lot of hope along with the loss of the six souls. The presence of a judge tended to bring order and calm. But with him gone, we are beginning to regress back to the savage kill or be killed rule.”


	6. What now?

Red froze at that comment, “Wait, you’re Underground got rid of the kill or be killed rule? How? That rule is so ingrained into my underground that I am almost positive that it could not be removed even if we had tried.” Red knew that there were undergrounds that were not violent like his. Some undergrounds like the cotton candy underswap never even had the kill or be killed rule enacted in the first place. But this Au was eerily similar to his own and from what he had gathered from Edge’s previous statements it was also just as violent. 

“Yes, that was one of the first things that San’s worked towards changing.” Edge stared at the other in confusion. Had Red’s underground still been under that horrible rule? For how long? 

Red looked away eye lights going out of focus for a moment. Sure, he had wished many times that his underground was less violent. But that’s all it ever was, an empty wish. The idea that it could become less ferocious in reality was like a pipe dream to Red. “I never even considered that was a feasible possibility…” A part of Red could not help but wonder if he would have been able to do the same thing. Maybe if he had just come out and admit that he was the judge the moment it had happened. Perhaps he could have created a world that was safe for Boss to grow up in… Red had never seen the effect of a judge going public with his identity. But this underground was a true example of what would happen. Most of it seemed like it would have a positive effect in Red’s opinion. 

Edge seeing the change in Red’s eye lights and demeanor realized that some negative emotions must have been unlocked with his previous comment. Edge was getting a little uncomfortable with the silence that was actively filling the room. Deciding to break the uneasy quiet Edge asked a question that had been in weighing the back of his mind. “So, Red you mentioned that the machine is broken. What is your plan now? Can you still return home?” 

“Yah, well I’m going to fix it obviously. But you see the problem is that the damage is rather extensive. So, the machine is going to take…a while to repair.” Red was snapped out of his thoughts by Edge’s question. 

“A while?” Edge repeated back Red’s words as if tasting them. “What exactly do you mean by a while?” Edge rose a brow bone quizzically at the other. 

Red cleared his throat and wiped off the sweat that was vigorously beading down his skull. “Yah, like two weeks, or possibly…a whole month.” He looked away and whispered the last three words so quietly that Edge almost missed them. 

“Did you just say a whole month!? What are you going to do during that time?” Edge knew that Red had mentioned that the machine was broken. But it had not really occurred to Edge how long it would take to fix the machine. 

Red gazed at Edge with an awkward expression, “Well, I mean… I was going to try to maybe crash here?” 

Edge blinked and stared at the other for a moment as if expecting Red to say it was a joke. However, when it became apparent that Red was indeed serious Edge leaped back to his feet. “Excuse me!? What makes you think that I am going to let you stay here in MY house?” 

“W-Well I mean, this is kind of my house too?” Red knew this was not exactly true. His house was back in his own underground cold and empty as it had been for the last two weeks. This was Edge’s house and Red was an uninvited and unwanted guest. Red had to admit that he probably would not react too kindly either if some random almost identical twin version of his own brother popped up into his AU asking to stay for the next two weeks to a month. But Red was not sleeping outside in the snow. 

“It is not, this is my home and I do not remember inviting you to stay here with me!” Edge was rather annoyed that this random monster had decided to invite themselves into his home. Even if Red was basically his brother's twin, he was still a stranger. It was common sense that you did not just randomly invite some odd stranger to stay with you in your house! They could kill you in your sleep! Thou as Edge looked Red’s sweating and small form in front of him, that was probably rather unlikely to happen.

Red shifted looking around the living room rather uncomfortably, “Well, I mean come on, Edge. Where else am I going to go?”

“I do not know, nor do I care.” Edge was wondering why this was his problem. After all, it was not his fault that this interdimensional traveler got himself stuck here. 

Red sighed he needed to take a different approach to this problem, “Ok Edge, think about this logically. You look a lot like my own Papyrus and considering your earlier reaction it stands to reason that I look a lot like your Sans. What are the monsters of this place going to think if they just see me wandering around?” 

Edge sighed and tapped his foot rather impatiently; Red did have a point but still, Edge was not about to give in that easily. “All it takes is a good look at you to realize that you are not Sans.” 

“Yes, but how many people in this violent underground are going to take the time to really study my features up close?” Red highly doubted that Edge wanted rumors surfacing that his brother was back from the dead and haunting the underground. Or that this Au’s Sans had faked his own death and allowed the human to escape unhindered. 

Papyrus gave a begrudging humph, “You look enough like my brother that it will give them pause.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t be serious Edge!” Yeah, ok sure the monsters of this underground would probably give pause when they saw how much Red looked like the Sans of this Au. But once they realized that he was indeed a different skeleton they might just attack him anyway! There was no guarantee of Red's safety if he just left and wandered around looking for a place to stay. “On top of that how many skeletons are even in this Au? Didn’t you mention that it was just you and your brother!? In mine, it's only me and my brother. So even if people do take the time to realize that I am not your Sans they are still going to have a lot of awkward questions.” 

Edge grit his teeth and looked away from the other arms crossed begrudgingly. “You are correct I did say that my brother and I were the only skeletons in our underground as well.”

“There you go then! No matter what I am going to get linked back to you and your Sans. I guess I could say that I am a distant relative… Which will not be a great lie. Even if someone were to believe it, there are going to be even more inquiries as to why I am wandering the streets instead of staying at my relations residence.” Red threw up his arms in exasperation and began to pace back and forth in small circles.

Papyrus gave a hiss of anger both at Red's sudden movements and the logical reasoning that he managed to point out. “I don’t trust you enough to have you in my house!” 

Red acted as if he had not heard the other speak, “I mean if we are really getting technical that is not too far off from the truth! I am more or less your brother. Just a version of him that was born in an Alternate timeline/ Universe. I had different circumstances that shaped me into what I am today. But if you really break it down all the monsters and humans in all the Au’s start off with the same basic template.” 

Edge sighed he was extremely annoyed with Red at this point. This skeleton may look like his brother. But this bumbling mess of a Monster was nothing like his strong and serious brother! Studying the other as he pranced back and forth around the room like an idiot Edge couldn’t help but comment. “Now that I look at you there are several physical differences. San’s eye lights were purple like my own, he had a scar over his eye socket, and he did not have a golden tooth.”

Red paused and mentally filed that information away for later, “Well that’s a problem considering that I can’t really change the color of my red magic nor can I just pluck my tooth out…” 

“Well, you say can’t…” Edge smirked and gave Red an appraising look up and down. 

“Let me rephrase that. I can NOT change the color of my magic and I WILL NOT pluck my tooth out.” Red glared at Edge as if daring the other to give it a try.


	7. Food

Edge stood outside of the shed door a plate of steaming alfredo pasta in hand. It had been a week since Red had come to his Au. Edge had stood firm in his rules of not allowing a stranger to stay in his house. But he also was unable to deny Red’s reasoning either. They had come to a compromise, that Red would stay in the shed and be allowed into the house as long as Edge was home to monitor him. The two bedrooms were off-limits but everything else was fine. 

At first, Red had been rather against the idea. He claimed that the shed is where he and his own brother would put ‘prisoners’ for holding until they could be transferred to the capital. But Edge managed to shut him up once he made it very clear that it was either the shed or the snow. 

Grumbling Red had gone into the shed. There had been some hiccups of course. The shed had no heat, and Red had made his displeasure known several times around, via loud shouts and complaints. Edge and his brother had never really used the shed for anything, not even storage. So, it stood to reason that it was quite bare of essentials. Something Red had once again made absolutely sure to whine about to the maximum of his capabilities. Edge had been rapidly losing his patience and was more than ready to throw Red out into the cold to fend for himself after three days of this. 

But had held off mostly due to the fact that Edge had found out that Red was very handy to have around. At first, it was little things that Edge spotted, such as leaky sinks being fixed, and door hinges being repaired. But once he took notice and began to really look around, Edge realized that the house was slowly being restored little by little. The couch had been patched up where it was originally leaking stuffing. The loose floorboards that were on the steps had been replaced with new ones. The kitchen cabinet that was missing had been rebuilt. The right front burner on the stove had been miraculously mended. The counters had been polished, and the fridge’s light bulb had been changed. There were several other little things that had been either mended or replaced throughout the week as well. Edge had to admit to himself that this had been a rather nice occurrence. Edge and Sans with their busy schedules never had time to spare to do the necessary little repairs around the house. They also did not trust to have another monster come into their inner sanctum to do it for them. 

Even some of Edge’s clothes had been patched! Edge had been training with Undyne who had been stressed due to a fight she had with Alphys. As a result, the vice-captain had been rougher with her attacks than normal. Edge of course with his amazing abilities did not get injured, but his shirt and pants had not been so lucky. When he had got home, Edge had changed and thrown the destroyed articles of clothing into the trash. However, imagine his surprise when a few days later his shirt and pants reappeared restored to almost completely perfect condition! 

The kicker had to be that Red did all of this and never even brought it up to Edge. Edge had waited for the other to accost him with a favor he needed granting. He had expected Red to ask for some G or perhaps request to be allowed to sleep in the house. But no matter how long Edge waited Red never approached him or brought up his deeds in conversation. In fact, Red appeared to not expect anything in return for all the work he had done. Which is why Edge was standing at the entrance of the shed with a plate of handmade steaming alfredo pasta balanced carefully in one hand while he knocked politely with the other. 

After hearing a muffled voice calling for him to enter. Edge opened the door only to freeze mid-step and do a double-take at the interior of the shed. Red had apparently taken the liberties to make the shed his own during this time. He had painted the walls with red and black themes and had somehow managed to build a tiny heater out of spare parts he seemingly had found around the house. But the thing that had surprised Edge the most was the bed frame that was pushed into the corner. It was a king-size bed frame, made from wood and painted black. Edge had to admit that it looked sleek, sturdy, and of very high quality. 

Red looked up at Edge in interest. The other had never bothered to visit the shed at all since Red had taken up residence inside of it. Red was curious as to what Edge could possibly want. Red had not broken any rules that the other had laid down to his knowledge. “Hey, what’s up?” 

Edge managed to tear his eyes away from the bed frame and gave Red an appraising look. The other had taken his sweatshirt off and had it neatly slung over a small wooden table. Red was wearing a black t-shirt and sitting on a low stool while tinkering with what appeared to be a mass of wires and metal microchips. Edge took a mental note of all the chips and scars he could now see, that were on the newly exposed areas of Red’s bones. There was Grease, oil and paint on Red’s skull, hands and clothes. Edge gave a small grimace at the other's messy appearance. “I brought you food.” Edge skillfully placed the plate of steaming pasta on the small table gently scootching Red’s sweatshirt aside. Where any of this furniture could have possibly come from Edge had no idea. He originally would have said it was all from the dump, but it all looked too new for that and in way too good of condition.

Red’s eye lights grew in response to that. It had been such a long time since he had eaten a home-cooked meal. Not that Boss’s cooking tasted all that good. Red tended to drown anything that Boss cooked with mustard in order to cover the flavor. But still, the sentiment was nice! “O-Oh wow, thank you. Um, I was not expecting that.” 

“Yes well, it has come to my attention that you have done a lot of repairs around the house. I thought that it was only proper to thank you.” Edge had taken a few steps forward and was studying the bed structure in closer detail. “How did you get this? It is very well made. However, I thought that you were not interacting with any of the monsters in this Au.” 

Edge turned around to see Red staring back at him with wide sockets frozen in place like he had just been caught. Red was holding the plate in one hand while the fork was in the other. Both of his cheeks were puffy and full of food. Edge could not help but think that the other looked like a frogget with his mouth so stuffed. 

Edge smirked he knew that his cooking was good, and it had been a while since he had been able to cook for anyone. But he was not even sure if the other skeleton was able to taste it with how fast he was scarfing the food down. “Slow down, I am not going to take the food from you.” 

Red swallowed and looked rather ashamed, “S-Sorry it has been a while since I had a home-cooked meal. Do not worry I have not made contact with any of the other residents of this AU. I made sure to steer clear of every monster except for you. The furniture you see here is stuff that I have built from the surrounding trees in snowdin. I took up wood crafting back when me and my bro were young. Trees were one of the few things that were actually free in our underground. So, I learned how to cut them down, process them, and carve them into things we could use.” 

Edge was amazed at the other's skill; this stuff was good enough to sell! But that emotion was quickly overridden by the small stab of guilt that Edge felt in his soul. He had not really thought about it before. But he really had not been the best of hosts. Edge knew that Red was avoiding the other monsters in this Au in order to avoid confusion since he looked so much like Sans. But if that was the case what had Red been eating all this time? If he was not interacting with other residents how had he been getting food? “What have you been eating this whole time?” 

Red blinked wide-socketed at Edge looking rather taken aback by the question, “Oh well, I have been mainly eating whatever I could find around your house when you're home.” 

Edge looked at the other rather alarmed, “I haven’t gone grocery shopping in quite some time. There has been very little in the house food-wise. Other than perhaps some crackers and a bottle of mustard.” 

Red gave an awkward laugh and scratched the back of his skull, “Eh, well I really love mustard, so it all worked out in the end.” 

Ok, now Edge really felt guilty and embarrassed. Back when he was alive Sans had been very bad with his eating habits. When Edge was young Sans had always made sure that his little brother constantly had something in his stomach, even if Sans had to give up the food from his own plate in the process. Once Sans became the judge, they no longer had to worry about money so food was readily available. But Sans's schedule was so busy that he would often forgo meals entirely. 

That was when Edge had taken up cooking, he had wanted to make absolutely sure that his brother was eating properly. Sans always expected the best from Edge in everything he did. So, Sans had made sure to be truthful with Edge about the flavor of his food. As a result of his brothers’ bluntness and support, Edge became an amazing cook. Once Edge was sure that his food was up to par, he was the one who did all of the cooking in the house from then on. 

But after San’s death Edge had taken to eating sporadically, more often than not just going straight to bed after work and skipping meals entirely. Only eating snacks when the hunger became too much for his magic to manage. Edge had gotten into the bad habit of doing so, to the point where it had just become a regular part of life. But he had not even considered the fact that Red would have to suffer due to his poor routine. The more time Edge spent with Red the more obvious it was to him how different he was from Sans personality-wise. But still Red did look like he could be Sans twin, it made a bitter taste pool in Edge’s mouth at the idea that someone with his brother’s face was going hungry due to his inattention. “I am sorry, it would seem that you have suffered due to my negligence.” 

Red who had finished all of the food at this point looked at the other in surprise. Red had honestly been extremely astonished to find out that Edge was an amazing cook! He did not even feel the desire to put mustard on the pasta. “Eh, no it's fine. I haven’t really been eating proper meals in quite a while anyway.” It was true, Boss was the one who did most of the cooking. Red mainly went to Grillby's and got food. But eating a burger and fries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day for two weeks got old really fast. So, Red’s eating habits had been erratic at best. 

This did not seem to make Edge feel better, however. The other began to look Red up and down as if attempting to see if he was malnourished in some way. Red wanted to give an amusing laugh in response to the gesture. They were skeletons it was not like the other was going to find any extra meat on Red’s bones. 

“Yes, well we will not be doing that anymore. You will be joining me in the house for meals every day for the extended period that you are here.” Edge was not about to have Red starve while under his care. He was putting a stop to this behavior right this second. 

“Edge you don’t have to do that - ” Red was surprised at the offer and a part of him really wanted to take Edge up on it. His cooking was amazing and the temptation of having homecooked meals really spoke deeply to Red. But he was an uninvited guest, taking advantage of the other's hospitality would be rude.

Edge was annoyed now, brow bone twitching he turned to Red and straightened to his full height. Glaring down at the other Edge cut Red off midsentence and growled. “Let me rephrase that. You are a guest in my shed you WILL be eating meals with me. Should you attempt to skip or be absent, I WILL HUNT you down and I then proceeded to FORCE feed you by hand any meal that you have avoided. Do I make myself clear?” 

Red swallowed well if Edge put it that way…“Y-Yeah, perfectly….”


	8. Bath

True to his word after their conversation in the shed Edge made sure that he and Red ate breakfast lunch and dinner together every day without fail. Even going so far as to come home in the middle of the day during his lunch break and cook an amazing meal from scratch. Red had to admit to himself that he was becoming a bit spoiled by all the good food he had been eating. Red was sure that if skeletons could get fat, he would be the size of the couch by now. He just could not help himself, it all tasted so amazing! Each time Edge put food on his plate Red found himself eating everything, he was barely able to hold back from physically licking the dish clean! Getting regular meals had also had a good effect on Red’s health. His bones were brighter, and his magic reserves were at full capacity constantly. Red had more energy this past week and a half, than he had in the past few years! 

There was also an unforeseen side effect of Edge and Red eating meals together. They were spending more time together, that might sound obvious, after all of course they were. But what neither of them had realized was that they honestly enjoyed this time together. They were unconsciously growing closer, learning each other’s likes and dislikes. Sharing stories from their pasts and about their brothers. The more time they spent with one another the more they got to know each other. Neither one would admit it to themselves, but it was nice. Or at least it had been until today…

“No! Get off me you overgrown tree!” Red was attempting to run away but Edge was holding him by the hood of his sweatshirt off the ground. 

“Absolutely not! This is just shameful!” Edge had his arm extended as far away from his body as he could possibly manage. He was holding Red in the air by the hood of his sweatshirt as the other dangled off the ground helpless in his hold. Edge had his other hand pointing towards the table that had a small greasy black stain on it in the shape of Sans hand. 

“I’ll just go back to the shed! You will not have to see me anymore! Let go!” Red began to struggle, which did not have as large of an effect as he would have hoped considering that he was suspended with his feet off the ground. If the other was not grasping onto his hood so tightly Red would have just short cut away! But as it was, he might accidentally take Edge with him. 

“No, you know the rule, all meals must be eaten together in the house! I have turned a blind eye to this long enough now.” Edge still holding Red at arm’s length as if he were some type of diseased wild animal. Began to walk his way towards the steps.  
“Fine, let me eat the meal really quick, and then I’ll leave!” Red at this point was honestly debating slipping out of his sweatshirt onto the ground and making a break for it. But he paused when he considered what Edge might do to the precious article of clothing as revenge should Red leave it behind. 

“Red you are absolutely filthy, and you are starting to smell! You will be bathing whether you like it or not!” Edge walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him with his foot. Turning on the faucet with one hand and pouring some soap into the water he and Red watched as water, bubbles, and steam began to fill the tub. 

Red let out a sound that was very similar to the whine of a canine as he watched the liquid pour into the bathtub. He hated baths, mainly because Boss tended to insist on throwing Red into the river with a bar of soap once he deemed the other skeleton too dirty to be allowed in the house. Red knew that the bathtub was full of hot water and not freezing cold like the river. But after countless ‘bathing’ in either the river or the freezing hose outside their home, Red had just developed a dislike for water in general. He avoided it as much as he possibly could even going so far as to skip bathing for weeks if he could help it. 

Edge could not understand Red’s hesitance to get clean. The other skeleton was completely filthy, he was covered in at least a week and a half worth of grime. At first, Edge deemed it polite to ignore the state of the other, thinking that perhaps Red would bathe when he had a chance. But that time never came! Finally, Edge’s composure broke when Red had sat down at the table and left a greasy black handprint on it! “Either give me your clothes so I can wash them and get in the tub or so help me I will strip you myself!”

“Y-You wouldn’t….” Red’s voice came out extremely soft as gave Edge a disbelieving look. Upon seeing the other's serious expression Red began to shrink down into his sweatshirt as if attempting to have the article of clothing swallow him whole. 

“TRY. ME. RED.” Edge growled and began to pull on Red’s sweatshirt for emphasis. The taller skeleton was completely serious he would hold Red down and strip him of every single article of clothing that the other was wearing if that’s what it took to get Red in the bath. It seemed that Red was still not taking Edge seriously, however, so Edge in order to prove his point began to reach for the elastic of Red’s shorts. 

Though Red would deny it to the end of his days, he let out a very unrefined squeak when Edge’s sharpened fingers curled around the top of the band of his shorts causing Red to freeze. But once he felt the tips of Edge’s claws brush his iliac crest and begin to pull downwards. Red let out another pathetic yelp before shouting, “Fine I’ll get in the stupid tub! Just get your hand out of my damn pants!” Red only relaxed once Edge withdrew his hand back to his side. However, it soon became apparent that the taller skeleton had no intention of moving anywhere else. “Well!? T-Turn around!”

“I don’t trust that you won’t shortcut away like my brother used to do.” Edge glared fondly at the memory of that little trick that Sans used to pull whenever he wanted to get out of something. It was only until Edge had managed to put together the idea that Sans could not escape if Edge was holding onto his body when things become more bearable. Edge had realized that Red probably had the same ability when he had managed to break into his house so quietly and efficiently the first day they met.

“So, what you going to do watch me change!?” Red at this point was beyond flustered. There was a huge blush spread over his skull and he was beginning to shake slightly from the embarrassment of the whole situation. At this point, he really did believe that Edge was completely serious about watching him get entirely bare-boned. The guy had almost yanked down Red’s pants and revealed his pelvis to the world!

“Oh, come on! Do not be such a baby bones, you are older than me! We are both skeleton monsters for stars sakes, you don’t have anything different than what I myself have!” Edge was getting a little impatient. Why was Red acting like such a child!? It was just a bath and Red sorely NEEDED one. 

Red was wheezing at this point, eye lights blown so large that they seemed to take up most of his skull. A part of Edge thought that Red looked like a scared rabbit or some other helpless animal, it was kind of charming. But also, rather alarming, small cute things were killed very quickly in the underground. It was considered mercy, best to let them die quickly rather than slowly and painfully. From what Red had told Edge of his own underground it was fundamentally the same there too. But seeing that Red really seemed to not want Edge to watch him change, Edge groaned and rubbed his temples. They were going to be stuck in the bathroom all night at this rate. 

Deciding to show the other mercy Edge sighed, “Fine, I will turn around. But I am not leaving the room and I am keeping my hold on your hood! If you try to use a shortcut to escape, I swear I will wash your sweatshirt in pure bleach and then burn it until it is completely unsalvageable. Do I make myself clear?” 

Red gulped and nodded, at this point, he was just happy that the other had agreed to give him some privacy. Edge turned around keeping a firm grasp on Red’s hood but making sure not to use enough pressure to cause holes with his claws. Edge listened as the sound of rustling clothing dropping slowly onto the floor could be heard. Edge only turned back around once he heard the sound of water splashing. 

The foam hid all of Red’s body except for his eye lights and the top of his skull which was peeking out of the surface of the bubbles like a turtle shell in a lake. Red’s eye lights were still blown wide as he stared at Edge as if afraid that the other was going to turn around prematurely. Once again Edge became concerned over the fact that Red was able to come off as adorable. This was a weakness, one that Red would need to work on for the sake of his survival. 

“You are too cute for your own good I hope you know that.” Edge did not really mean anything by it. He was stating it as a fact. It was true, Red was too cute for his own good. It was dangerous… 

The blush on Red's skull had managed to die down once he was nestled safely in the tub, the bubbles protecting his decency. But at those words Red’s whole skull went bright red once again, he began to sputter and choke on the bathwater. “Wha- I am not cute! You take that back!” Red sat up a bit in the water giving Edge a view of his upper vertebrae and clavicle, all of which were covered in some sort of cracks, chips, or bone remodeling. It seemed that each time Edge saw a new piece of Red’s bones that were usually covered by his sweatshirt, there was some type of sign of previous damage. Despite being cute it was obvious that Red had survived a very harsh environment. Which means that the other must be stronger than Edge was giving him credit for.

Edge stared openly taking a long look at Red’s visible scars and chips. Apparently, his examination of the other was taking a bit too long because Red began to squirm as Edge stared at him unblinkingly. It made for a delightful scene, the other smaller skeleton blushing and fidgeting all the while attempting to hide himself in the bubbles like some sort of protective barrier. Edge smirked, “No, you are very cute. But it would seem that you have managed to survive this long. So, I suppose that’s not such a bad thing after all.” Without another word, Edge bent down to gather all of Red’s discarded clothes even his socks, and proceeded to walk out of the room.

Once edge had left the room with all of Red’s clothes in hand, he sunk down into the bubbles until he was completely hidden. The moment the other had called him cute and then picked up his socks… Red swore that his blush could heat the entire core!


	9. Pajamas

Edge was in the kitchen working on dinner. He had cleaned up the terrible greasy black mark the Red had left on the table earlier. The other had been in the bath for a while now. Edge could not help but smirk at that, Red really did act like a child at times. He fought and whined about getting in the tub but once he was settled, he seemed to not want to come back out. It was yet another thing about him that was cute. 

Edge looked up from what he was doing when he heard a small rustling noise. Red was at the entrance of the kitchen. He was hiding most of himself behind the wall off to the side of the open doorway. Edge could only see Red’s large eye sockets and one of his hands peaking out. 

“Are you going to come in?” Edge watched as a crimson blush sprinkled its way along Red’s cheeks. 

“N-No!” Red revealed his full skull and proceeded to snap his teeth in the direction of Edge, but the action obviously did not hold any real malice. 

Edge simply smirked highly amused at Red’s behavior. “Why are you hiding in the doorway? You act as if I am going to attack you at any moment.” 

The blush on Red’s cheeks got darker and his face morphed into a scowl, “You damn near molested me upstairs! Of course, I am going to be wary of you!” Red could still feel the phantom brush of the other’s fingers touching his iliac crest. 

Edge popped the pork chops into the oven and stood back up leaning languidly against the counter. “Oh come now Red, I won’t just jump you and take your clothes off at the drop of a hat. Or at least not without good reason…” Edge mumbled the last sentence so quietly that Red almost didn’t hear him. It was true, Edge was never going to allow for Red to get that dirty again. Next time Edge would strip Red and physically toss him into the tub despite any objections Red might have. 

Red sputtered and hid back behind the wall once again only showing his largely blown eye lights. “D-Don’t come near me! I-I will bite you!” Red’s teeth were razor-sharp and could cause a lot of damage to fleshy beings. But Red doubted that his bite would have any real effect on Edge since he was made of bone instead of flesh. But he was hoping that it might make Edge think twice before attempting to grab at him again.

At those words, Edge let out another chuckle, “It's true that your teeth are sharp.” Edge turned to face Red opening and closing his own jagged razer-like teeth in a snapping motion. “But mine are just and pointy and stronger.” 

Red felt his mouth go dry at those words. Edge was not incorrect; his jaw was thicker and larger. While Red’s teeth were razor-sharp and good for cutting. Edge’s jaw was obviously made for crushing and tearing. He could do a whole lot more damage than Red ever could. Red was pretty sure that the other skeleton was just messing with him. But just in case, he made sure to hide his hand behind the wall with the rest of his body. 

“Due to your bath incident, dinner will be a little later than usual. Your clothes also will not be done for quite some time too. They were so stained and full of grease that I had to run them through the heavy-duty cycle twice! They used up half a gallon of detergent too. I have no idea how you were able to wear them all this time without dusting from some type of sickness or disease.” Edge placed his oven mitts on the counter next to the stove as he stared at Red with an unreadable expression. 

“They weren’t that bad…” Red looked towards the ground and mumbled those words in his defense. 

Edge gave Red a deadpan look, “Red I wasn’t going to bring this up because I wanted to forget that it ever happened. But one of your socks came to life and tired to crawl away from me as I was washing it. It was so saturated with your magic (Probably from your sweat) that it somehow gained sentience of its own. I did not even know that was physically possible until today. I still have a lot of questions, about what I saw. You are lucky I did not ship the thing right over to Alphys for study. The only reason I did not, was the fact that I had no idea how I was going to explain its existence to her! In fact, when I washed it, I think I accidentally gained some EXP. Meaning that it was indeed alive, and It apparently had the ability to die.” 

Red cringed and looked at Edge mutely, he had no words for his defense… 

Edge simply shook his head at Red’s silence and sighed, “Why don’t you go watch some TV while I finish up the food? I need a minute to contemplate the meaning of life and question everything that I have ever known about monsters and how they are created. Your laundry broke so many laws of physics that I have no idea how to comprehend it.” 

Red decided that maybe it would be best to leave Edge to his internal crises, opted to silently and slowly back away towards the couch in the living room. Sitting down with a satisfied groan Red began to rub at his sore neck vertebrae. The hot water of the bath had helped with some of the aches Red had been feeling but did not do much for his fatigue. Red was admittedly exhausted, he had been here a total of two and a half weeks now and had been working harder and putting more effort into doing things than he had in years. 

Red’s days were mostly composed of eating breakfast with Edge, working on the machine, eating lunch with Edge, working on the machine, eating dinner with Edge, and then going back to work on the interior of the shed so that it was actually livable. Before collapsing into a deep sleep and repeating the whole cycle all over again the next day. Seriously how on earth had Edge expected Red to sleep without heat!? Sure, the cold would not dust Red like it might other fleshier monsters, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable! 

Red was also doing some repairs around Edge’s house. He knew that the other did not expect him to. But back home Red was the one who did all the repairs on his and Boss’s home. A house needed regular upkeep in order to stay functioning. It would seem that Edge’s house had not been tended to in a long time. Red figured that the Sans of this Au was too busy with his Judge duties to help out with little day-to-day things like this. Edge no longer had his brother around, and the idea of leaving this underground’s Papyrus in a house that needed repairs rubbed Red the wrong way. 

It was then that Edge had walked out of the kitchen carrying two plates. However, he seemed to freeze mid-step. Red who had been rubbing his temples looked up questioningly at the other's abrupt halt. Edge was just standing and staring at Red unblinking. “Hey, everything ok? I am all bathed and clean now so you should be happy.” Red was slightly afraid that the reason Edge had stopped was because he was not satisfied with Red’s current state of cleanliness. Red was worried that the other would demand that he get back in the tub.

Edge on the other hand was having a tiny inner crisis. He had made a small miscalculation when making Red bathe. It was foolish really, and quite a large oversite on Edge’s part. Edge was currently washing all of Reds clothing and had seemingly forgotten to give the other something to wear in the meantime. Thou in Edge’s defense after having to literally kill a living sock, he was not exactly in the right mindscape. 

Instead of walking out of the bathroom in the nude, Red had taken matters into his own hands. Edge tended to keep his pajama’s in one of the bathroom cabinets so that after he showered at the end of the day, he could change and then go straight to bed. It seems that Red had found Edge’s Pajamas and decided to wear his shirt like some kind of baggy dress. 

The shirt was ridiculously large on Red, it went all the way down to his mid tibia and the sleeves had been rolled several times just so that they could be short enough to settle at Red’s wrists. The collar of the shirt hung down making a V neck on the smaller skeleton. Which revealed just a few of Red’s top ribs. Edge took a perceptual note that all of them seemed to be damaged with old injuries. A strange warm feeling settled in Edge’s soul at the image of Red lounging on the couch in his shirt. Edge could not really identify the feeling, but he did know that it was not unpleasant. However, Edge did notice that all these things combined made Red look extremely feeble and fragile… 

Red was getting a little restless, Edge had not moved or Blinked for quite a bit of time at this point. “Edge, you ok? You just kind of froze and started staring at me. You seem to have a bad habit of doing that you know?” 

“Sorry, I just never realized how small you were under all of the bulk of your clothing.” It was true without his fluffy coat Red looked almost delicate. Edge felt like if he reached over, he could break the other with one hand. Most of Red's body had been covered by the bubbles of the bath, so this was the first good look Edge had gotten of the other without all his layers on. To see how small Red was in comparison to Edge’s clothes was a bit of a shock. 

Red gave a nervous laugh at that, “Well we can’t all be behemoth tree-sized skeletons. Now can we?” 

Edge just gave a hum in response; he had come to a decision. As long as Red was here Edge would be giving him extra-large portions of food. Skeleton monsters did not get fat in the traditional sense of the word. But they did have the ability to gain or lose bone mass. It was not exactly a hugely noticeable difference, but it was something at least. Edge took note that with Sans slight build he might not gain much bone mass even if he was fed more. But it was still worth a try? Edge sat down next to Red and passed him a plate, silently wishing that he had put a lot more on it before serving the other. “Since it seems that you have already made yourself comfortable here, I suppose eating a meal while watching TV won’t hurt.” Originally Edge would want to sit at the table and eat. But for some reason, the idea of making Sans move from his relaxed position filled his mouth with a bitter taste. 

Both of them settled down in comfortable silence together with only the sound of the TV and the clink of silverware in the background. Neither one truly understood what they were feeling, but the whole atmosphere was comfortable and pleasant… 

Red was the one who broke the silence first. Swallowing a mouth full of heavenly tasting mashed potatoes, he turned to look at Edge. “Hey Edge, I feel bad just freeloading off you. So, can you use this to buy groceries and help pay bills?” Edge stared in amazement as Red reached down over the arm of the couch out of his view and proceeded to pull up next to them what must have been a 10IB bag filled to the brim with G. 

Now Red did not usually show off large amounts of gold. That was a liable way to get yourself on a hit list or attacked in an ally. But Edge had been cooking three full square meals a day for the both of them every day for the past week and a half. On top of that Red was using a lot of power in the shed. Sure, he had to build the heater himself, but it was still connected to the electricity of the house along with the lights of the shed. Though Edge had not said anything, Red knew that all of this had to be adding up. 

What a lot of monsters did not realize was that all Sanses were actually able to store things in the void. It was where most Sanses put their brothers cooking when they could not stomach it. Red himself had been guilty of putting Boss’s lasagna in the void when it was too horrible to eat. He would also store some other miscellaneous stuff in there too. Red tended to try not to store to much in the void, however. Mainly because he did not really like the feeling of reaching his hand into the empty thick pudding-like gravity-less place. Short cuts were one thing because they were useful as well as extremely quick, so Red was able to grit his teeth and put up with the discomfort. But for some reason just sticking a piece of himself into the void and groping around slowly until he was able to grab what he was looking for. Felt wrong and gross, it was as if instinctively Red was afraid that he might never get whatever limb he put in their back. 

But the one thing that Red stored in there the most was G. It was really nifty since no one could steal it from him. But he mainly did it because though no sans or papyrus really talked about it too much. As the royal judges, all of them were given a monthly stipend of a considerable size by the royal family of each of their respective undergrounds. But like every other Judge Red could not really let his brother see the money without going into an awkward explanation. So Red would hide it in the void, He would then proceed to deposit a large amount of G into Boss’s account each time Boss got paid. This way he was able to contribute to the household without Boss getting too suspicious. Red had started doing this the moment Boss became the captain of the royal guard, so Boss assumed that was just his salary. In truth, thou Red had a LOT of G saved up. He was not even sure how much he had, but it was quite a sizable amount. The bag he was giving to Edge was like a drop taken from a large lake. 

Edge slowly looked Red up and down, “Red that is a LOT of G” Red could hear the unspoken question in the other's tone. It was normal for Edge to be suspicious, that was enough for a regular small family to live off of for a year.

Red rolled his eyes at Edge’s behavior. But he could understand the skepticism, “Before you ask no, I did not steal it! I brought it with me when I was accidentally transported here!” Red knew that it was a vague and rather unsatisfactory excuse. In his defense, however, it was not entirely untruthful. 

Boss shot Red a skeptical look, “Hmmmmm… But I did not see you carrying a bag this big when you first entered the house? I also feel like if you had dropped it when you were first transported here it would have been long gone by the time you went back for it.” 

Ok, Red knew that Edge was not going to let this go. His brother had been very open about being the judge after all. Keeping this in mind Red supposed that it would make sense, that this Au’s Sans had raised Edge with the idea that stealing was wrong. Sighing Red demonstrated his ability to be able to put the bag back in the void. Edge seemed to get a look of understanding and appreciation on his face and nodded in acceptance. Red gave a rather unpleasant shudder as he reached in to take it out again. “The feeling of reaching in there is not a pleasant one, so I don’t do it unless I absolutely have to. I am only showing you this trick once ok!” 

Edge understood that Red was showing him a secret. A lot of monsters in the underground would love to have the ability to smuggle things undetected. If anyone found out that Red had this skill it could put him in obvious danger. “Thank you for explaining Red, I apologize for doubting you.” 

Red looked away from the other in a combination of annoyance and embarrassment, “Do you want it or not!? I can just take it back if you don’t want it!” The bag was actually getting kind of heavy in Red's hold and he would prefer to either hand it over or put it away. 

Edge reached out and gently took the bag from the shorter skeleton, “No, no, I didn’t say that.” Edge walked away and proceeded to walk into the kitchen. Once in there he put the G into the secret room that was under the kitchen sink for safekeeping. “Thank you Red, this was very thoughtful and will help with groceries and the bills.” 

Red blushed and turned away. Putting a piece of pork chop in his mouth he mumbled, “Well yeah, I’m not some sort of freeloader.” Edge allowed himself to secretly smile warmly at the other’s quiet muttering


	10. Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all of your kind comments, you all make me want to continue with this story.

Edge was a little later than usual coming home. There had been a scuffle in hot land that had kept him slightly overtime today. It had proven to be too much for the regular guards to handle. The river person was backed up with ride requests, meaning that Edge had to trek by foot all the way from snow din to hot land and then all the way back home. Only once Edge had managed to arrive and diffuse the issue personally, was it finally resolved effectively and immediately. Edge sighed as the snow falling around him thickened. It just kept descending making his journey home tougher and slower.

Edge hated evenings like this, the ones where it was snowing so heavily, to the point that he could barely see his own feet. It reminded him of the day he had found out Sans had been dusted. It had been snowing just like this. Edge had been on his way home expecting to find his brother sleeping on the couch like normal, a grin spread across his face and endless irritating puns spewing from his mouth. Oh, what Edge would not give to hear his brother’s stupid puns again. 

Edge would never forget the moment he had opened the door to their home only to be greeted by dark emptiness. A deep inexplicable sense of dread and wrongness filling his soul as he paced in the living room waiting for Sans late into the night. Mentally reassuring himself that his brother was just busy with his royal judge duties. Only to have an injured Asgore himself come to the door to deliver the news of Sans dusting personally.

Edge did not remember much after that; his world went dull. All sounds, colors, monsters, apologies, condolences, and cries. Just blended into useless background static noise. Edge had spent the three months after that in a half-dream comatose-like state. It was as if his body had been walking around but his soul had dusted with his brother.

Edge grit his teeth at those memories. It was becoming obvious that without a judge the underground was beginning to revert back to its darker past. Edge could not help the negative bitter feelings that arose in him each time he thought about all of it. It was like a slap in the face, how easily the monsters of the underground had decided to ruin all of Sans hard work. The relentless effort that took his brother hundreds of years to implement was being torn down in a mere three months. Every time he went into work, he was reminded through the actions of the quickly deteriorating underground that Sans was dead. There was no judge to keep the peace and the monsters were falling apart at the seams because of it. 

Edge’s negative thoughts came to a pause once he caught sight of his house in the distance. The lights were on, warm and gleaming through the window. The soft yellow glow cutting through the curtain of falling snow around him, calling out to him like a beacon. The heavy feeling on Edge’s soul began to ease up and he felt like he could finally breathe again. Edge was hit with a deep thought that pierced his soul like a knife; he was not alone... There was someone at home waiting for him. He was not going to open the door to an empty, dark, and cold house. When he opened the door, he would be greeted by a small delicate fierce little skeleton. Who had big adorable red eye lights. A blush that could light up the darkest of rooms and a large sharp golden tooth smile. With these thoughts in mind, Edge sped up until he was sprinting as fast as he physically could towards the cozy illumination of his home. 

Edge opened the door with a genuine smile on his face, he had expected to see Red lounging and watching TV. But paused when he was welcomed instead by the warm smell of food and the absence of Red on the couch. There was a moment of brief raw panic that shot through Edge. Sans was a terrible and messy cook back when he was alive. If Red was anything like him, Edge was about to walk into a tragedy involving burnt food and a kitchen that looked like a tornado ran through it. Hoping that he was not too late to stop the impending catastrophe that his poor oven, pots, pans, and fridge were about to go through. Edge quickly kicked off his shoes and stumbled into the kitchen rather unceremoniously. 

Only instead of disaster and calamity, Edge was greeted by a sight that made his soul pound in his chest with an indescribable feeling. Red was standing in front of the oven, he was wearing Edge’s oven mitts. However, due to the size difference, they went all the way up to his elbows. Red had taken off his baggy sweatshirt and was wearing Edge’s apron, which just like Edge’s pajama shirt was much too large on the smaller skeleton. Causing the apron to look more like a dress on Red than anything else. Hearing the other come in Red turned to face Edge.

Edge would swear till the end of his natural days that what happened next occurred in slow motion and was somehow framed by echo flowers. Time seemed to stand still as Red turned to face Edge, his skull slightly tilted to the side as he cradled a steaming apple pie in his mitt-covered hands. There was a small sprinkling of crimson on his cheeks as a warm sharp tooth grin spread across his skull. Red’s eye lights took on an unconsciously affectionate and gentle look as he welcomed Edge home. 

Edge only knew one thing at that instant, that he wanted to remember this moment forever. Edge wanted to ingrain this memory at the forefront of his mind. The instant he had come home from a stressful day at work expecting to open the door to a cold and empty house. Only instead to be greeted with warmth, and a small smiling blushing skeleton. Who was clad in an oversized apron that looked like a dress, while he held a steaming pie in his oven mitt-covered hand’s. 

Red smiled and welcomed Edge home. However, paused when Edge did not move from the doorway or give his normal greeting in return. Red had noticed that this was becoming a pattern for Edge. He would stop and just stare at Red silently and unblinking for several moments at the seemingly most random of times. A thought had occurred to Red that perhaps Edge was upset that Red had let himself into the house without the other home. But Red shook that idea away, he had allowed himself inside the house without Edge multiple times since the bath incident and the other did not seem to mind. Or at least he never brought it up or yelled at Red about it, Red had no idea why on earth he would start having a problem with it now. But then again at this point, at least two minutes had passed, and Edge had still not moved… 

Maybe he was mad because Red was using his kitchen to cook? Boss tended not to like whenever Red decided to use the kitchen without warning, so it was possible. Red gave a nervous laugh, “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind. It’s just that you were a little late so I figured that work must have been a bit rough today. I thought maybe I could give you a break from cooking?” Red shifted back and forth awkwardly. 

Edge was broken out of his trance by the other’s words. “You can cook? Have you been holding out on me all this time?” Edge had somehow managed to pull himself together enough to speak. 

Red gave a relieved sigh, it did not seem that Edge was upset just caught off guard. “Well, not as good as you that’s for sure. But I was the sole provider and homemaker for several years while my bro was growing up so I can at least somewhat put some grub together. But do not expect anything fancy! I can only promise that it will hopefully be edible at best!” 

Edge felt his eye lights waver slightly, turning around so that Red could not see his expression. It had been so long since anyone had done something like this for him. It was true that Sans was a terrible cook that made huge messes. But when Edge was a baby bones still growing Sans was the one who had to do the cooking for both of them. It was a chaotic and appalling affair, but still, Edge could tell that his brother had put in his best effort in every dish he made, despite how burnt it was. Seeing Red in the kitchen had brought back those memories. Normally Edge would not be so emotional or sentimental, but it seemed that with weather like this Edge had been dragged down memory lane despite himself. 

“Edge are you ok?” Red was taken aback by the other's abrupt behavior. Maybe today had been more stressful for Edge than Red had thought? He had been acting very odd ever since he got home. Placing the pie down on top of the stove so it could cool. Red removed the oversized oven mitts he had been wearing and took a step away from the oven. He began to slowly approach Edge with one arm outstretched to give the other a reassuring pat on the back. But before he could, Edge straighten up and squared his shoulders. Red quickly withdrew his hand and watched as the other took a deep breath. 

Edge turned around surprised to see Red so close. Quickly holding his hand in front of his mouth and clearing his throat in order to hide and disperse the odd heat he felt in his cheeks. Edge scanned the kitchen to see if maybe Red required any assistance. “Yes, I am fine. Do you need any help?” 

Red was rather caught off guard by the abrupt question. Taking a step back to give Edge some more room, Red gave a small smile at the taller Skeleton. “Huh? Nah, I got it all covered no worries. You should go relax; it seems like you have had a harsh day. I know that being the captain of the royal guard can be extremely stressful. Then on top of that, you have been taking care of my lazy bones whenever you come home. Let me take care of dinner today.” 

Edge bit back the words that he very much enjoyed taking care of Red. “Y-Yes, well it was nothing that I could not handle. If you are sure you do not need support, I will go take a shower while you finish up.” Edge spun around and proceeded to march up the steps towards the shower. Red chuckled after him and began to knead the pizza dough. Red was just happy that Edge was acting normal again. 

Edge braced himself against the shower wall. The hot water poured over his sore and aching bones. Despite the soothing water relaxing his body, it did nothing to help calm his racing thoughts. Edge’s mind was a mess with notions of Red. At first, Edge had thought of Red a just a pest. Someone that had come crashing into his life uninvited. Edge only wanted to mourn his brother and to keep wasting away until he dusted following Sans into the great beyond. Truthfully, Edge had wanted to fall down… 

Edge had not wanted a house guest like Red. The fact that it was like staring at the ghost of Sans each time Edge looked at the shorter skeleton, really did not help matters. But it was because of those same similarities that Edge could not bring himself to boot the other out into the snow. Instead, he compromised and kicked Red out to the shed. Edge had thought that would be ok. After all Red had said that he would be fixing the machine and leaving. Once he left Edge could go back to grieving his brother and then follow him in the afterlife as he had originally planned. 

But Edge had not counted on Red wriggling his way into his daily life. At the time Edge had found the other extremely infuriating and difficult to look at. He always avoided Red and had done his best to sneak into the house after work so Red wouldn’t see him. If Red did enter the house while Edge was home he would run straight to his room so that Red wouldn’t try to talk to him. But then things started getting fixed around the house without a word. After that first day, Red never attempted to force Edge to interact with him either. 

In the end, Edge could no longer ignore the kind actions of the other. Sans had raised him better than that, so he found himself outside the shed with a plate of food in hand. Little did Edge know this would be the mark of his downfall. All of Edge’s carefully laid plans to dust along with his brother once Red left. Were smashed to pieces by the actions and existence of one unaware small skeleton. Before Edge had realized it Red had become a part of his daily life. Edge now looked forward to coming home, he no longer felt like a walking husk. Red had given Edge HOPE and did not even realize it. Heck, Edge had not even realized what had been happening until it was too late.

Still lost in thought Edge walked down to the living room freshly showered and in his pajamas. Red popped his head out of the door frame to the kitchen. Edge noted amusedly that there was flour and what appeared to be pasta sauce smeared on the other’s cheeks. “Sorry, I know that you're done with your shower, but the pizza is still cooking. Would you mind just waiting a bit longer? It should only take another 30 minutes at maximum.” 

Pizza was usually a dish that Edge stayed away from since it was a bit too greasy for his taste. But since Red put so much effort into it, he supposed that one night of having it wouldn’t hurt. “No problem, don’t rush yourself.” 

Red nodded and quickly ducked back into the kitchen beyond Edge’s view. Edge looked around; it had honestly been a while since he last had some free time. He almost did not know what to do with himself. Edge gazed around the living room; he could watch some TV but as of late everything Mettaton did was reruns. As much as Edge enjoyed watching Mettaton’s flamboyant acting, he was not really in the mood for watching repeats today. It was then that the shelf in the corner caught his eye. Amongst the joke books and the books on quantum physics, there was a box that held all of Edge’s half-finished puzzles. Edge loved making and solving puzzles but with his busy schedule, he tended not to have time for the hobby. 

Pulling out the box and looking through some of the puzzles Edge paused as a half-finished crossword caught his eye. This had been the last puzzle that Edge had been working on before Sans had been dusted. It was true that due to Edge’s busy schedule he rarely had time for puzzle making. But after Sans death, Edge had destroyed almost every single one of his puzzles. Edge at the time had not understood why he had done it. He vaguely remembered staring for hours numb to the world as he sat amongst the shredded remains of the hobby he had once loved. 

Only the small box on the shelf survived. Simply because at that point by the time Edge had managed to stumble his way home, he was too exhausted to make an effort to destroy it as well. Looking back on all of it. Edge now knew why he had obliterated all of his puzzle traps. It was because he had been furious. Enraged that they had been completely useless, all that time spent making them and they had failed to stop the human. If they had worked, if just one single puzzle had managed to work Sans would still be alive and well.

Picking up the half-finished crossword and gently rubbing his finger over some of the writing. Edge thought about how he would often make puzzles and give them to Sans to solve. His lazy brother often would give halfhearted attempts at resolving them, before hanging the puzzle on the fridge. Edge had once asked Sans why he even bothered to hang them up since he never really solved them properly. San’s response had been that even though he was not great at answering the puzzles. The coolest brother in the world had made it for him, so he wanted to put it in a place of honor. Now that Edge thought about it, Sans never threw a single one of Edge’s handmade puzzles in the trash. Once Edge made a new puzzle Sans would take the old one and put it in a box under his bed for safekeeping. Sans seemed to love whenever Edge made puzzles. 

A part of Edge wondered if Sans would be upset that his little brother had basically given up the hobby upon his death. It had been a while since Edge had bothered to look at this box, the lone surviving artifact of his puzzle massacre. This crossword puzzle in particular had been rather difficult to look at. But Edge felt like he could handle working on it now. Taking out the half-finished crossword Edge began to write on it. He became so absorbed into its creation that he did not realize how much time had passed. 

Edge was broken out of his daze by Red holding out a plate of steaming pizza towards him. Slightly flinching in surprise at Red’s proximity, Edge quickly reached up and removed the plate from Red’s hold. Edge had not even heard the other smaller skeleton approach him. “Has it been 30 minutes already!?” Edge must have been really lost in concentration if that much time had passed without his knowledge. 

Red sheepishly smiled, taking a bite of his own slice of pizza. “Actually the pizza took a little longer to finish than I thought. It has been 45 minutes.” 

Edge could hardly believe it, glancing down he noticed that he was basically done with the crossword. “I…had not realized how much time had passed…”

Red looked down to see what Edge had been working on, “Did you make this?” 

“Yes, I haven’t really made any puzzles due to being so busy but also when San’s died, I lost interest in the sport.” Edge studded the puzzle in his lap, a deep bittersweet feeling weighing on his soul. 

Red gave a nod of understanding as he gently took the puzzle from the other’s lap, being very careful not to bend it or damage the paper. “This is very well made! Great job, you have a lot of talent.” Red meant it too, it was a really nice and detailed crossword that would probably take him a solid hour or two to finish if he really put effort into solving it. 

A part of Red could not help but think it was adorable that Edge made the crossword himself. Boss used to make sudoku’s and crosswords by hand all the time. But ceased when he became the captain of the royal guard. Boss had stopped then saying that such baby bones activities were below someone as amazing as him. Red really missed those times, when Boss used to hand him his homemade puzzles telling him to solve them. 

“You like puzzles?” Edge took a bite of the pizza, it was ok. A little too chewy but overall, rather acceptable. 

“Don’t all monsters like puzzles? Though I am not nearly as adept at making or solving them as my bro is.” Red carefully placed the puzzle back onto Edge’s lap and took another bite of his own pizza, “I know it's not as good as your cooking. But save room for dessert! The pie will probably taste a little better since it is a recipe I got from an old friend.” 

Edge felt a slight twinge in his soul at the affectionate look that crossed Red’s face when he talked about his brother. “The pizza is acceptable; it is edible just as you promised. However, I do look forward to this pie you speak so highly of.”

Both settled into friendly banter as they ate together. The thought occurred to Edge that if he could spend all heavily falling snowy nights like this, then maybe he could stop dreading them and maybe even grow to like them.


	11. Asgore's POV

Asgore sat on his throne, griping his trident tightly as he stared off into the distance lost in thought. He was for lack of a better term alarmed… Asgore had not heard from his royal judge in quite a while. Usually, Red would appear every now and then to hang around the Judgement hall or to answer to Asgore’s summons. But he had not seen bone or eye light of the other monster for the last three weeks. 

Asgore had attempted to contact Red via his phone, but no matter how much he called he never got a response. Despite what others tended to think about the small skeleton. Red was not lazy when it came to his duties as the royal judge. He always made sure to check in with Asgore at least once a week. His job as a sentry was simply for appearances. At first, Asgore thought that the other was just being stubborn about something. Or that perhaps Red was angry and throwing a metaphorical tantrum by not showing up for his duties. It was rare for Red to act this way, but not completely unheard of. 

Such occurrences had happened only ever twice before. Once was after Red suffered a rather brutal fight with his brother Papyrus and had been kicked out of their house for a few weeks as a result. The conflict had taken place publicly in the middle of snowdin and had been so large and caused so much property damage. That news of the skirmish had even reached Asgore’s ears. After he had found out that Red had been booted out of his home, Asgore was about to secretly intervene with the situation. After all the royal judge could not be condemned to sleep outside in the snow. Asgore could rebuild the broken property, what he could not do was replace Red. However, before Asgore could intercede in the situation, the brothers had seemingly made up on their own. Asgore had settled instead for summoning his captain of the royal guard and publicly scolding him as punishment for the disturbance and property damage. If it had been anyone else, they would have been stripped of their title and had their wages docked. But considering that Papyrus was Red’s brother Asgore deemed it appropriate to show some mercy towards the younger skeleton. From what Asgore could understand the whole situation had been caused by a new little skeleton that had been running around named Blue? Apparently Red and Papyrus had gotten into a fight that revolved around the subject of the starry-eyed skeleton. Asgore really did not give it much thought after the brothers solved their quarrel. The underground was violent, clashes were bound to occur here and there even amongst family. If Asgore Responded to every single minuscule battle that broke out, then he would never return to the castle. 

The second time that Red had refused to tend to his royal judge duties. Had been after Red and Asgore had a disagreement with one another about the amalgamates. Red had not shown up for his duties for two whole months after that incident. But when the shorter skeleton did return he and Asgore never spoke of the incident again. 

But this time was different, Asgore had not heard of any fight that had taken place between the skeleton brothers. Nor did Asgore and Red have a current conflict with one another. At this point, Asgore was even considering ordering the guards to search for Red and having him temporarily arrested, just so that he could force Red to come to the Royal place without arising too much suspicion. But the thing that had made Asgore pause and realize that Red was missing and not just dodging his duties. Was when he received Undyne’s reports. In the reports Undyne had stated that Red had skipped his sentry duties for the past three weeks straight, she was requesting permission for immediate dismissal. Asgore often got formal written complaints from Undyne about the lazy skeleton sentry constantly falling asleep at his post and even going so far as to sell water sausages from his station. (Asgore had laughed when he had found out about that last bit of information.) 

It would seem that Undyne did not trust the current captain of the royal guard to properly punish the sentry on account of them being brothers. So, she was sending her formal written complaints directly to Asgore himself. Usually, a normal monster would be dusted for such offense as sleeping at their royal sentry station. But Red was obviously an exception. Asgore could care less if Red slept at his station, or sold hot dogs, it’s not like Asgore would be able to dust the judge, he was much too important. It was better just to let Red do whatever he wanted, much to Undyne’s Chagrin. Asgore almost felt pity for the second in command, like everyone else, she had no idea that Red was the royal judge. As such she had no idea why Red could get away with so much. Asgore knew that Undyne was just lashing out any way that she possibly could. She could not beat Papyrus in a fight, so she was attempting to go after his superficially useless brother in retaliation for her career setback. To her, it must seem like the skeleton brothers were able to get away with everything. 

Asgore nearly felt sympathy for her, but that was always quickly overridden by the disappointment he bore towards the female fish monster. Undyne had shown such promise when she was younger. He had even gone out of his way to personally train her while she was still in stripes. Treating her almost as if she were his own adopted daughter. Asgore was sure that she would even be able to one day reach the level of a boss monster. But in the end, all his hopes and years of hard work had been dashed when she had been defeated by Papyrus. A rather young upstart skeleton monster who had never even received any formal training. Undyne even lost an eye in the process of having her spot taken from her. Asgore still remembered the deep-seated disillusionment he felt towards Undyne as she kneeled at his feet telling him of her failure, her empty socket leaking dust onto the throne room floor and her armor destroyed. Edge had stood tall behind her, proud at his accomplishment and waiting for Asgore to announce him as the new Captain. Asgore would admit that it had been a deeply disheartening and upsetting moment for him. But he could not deny that Papyrus had earned his right to be the next Captain of the Royal Guard. He had proven himself through his own hard work and accomplishments. 

Sans and Asgore had agreed when it was first discovered that magic had granted the smaller skeleton the title. It would be best for him to stay anonymous for multiple reasons. As it was right now, the underground did not even know that they currently had a royal judge. The last publicly known royal judge had died in the war. The position came with both benefits and disadvantages. The title came with a very healthy monthly stipend, protection from the royal family, power, and honor. However, should Sans want to ever announce publicly who he was the drawbacks would be quite large in their own right. A judge is powerful, something beyond even what a boss monster is. Nothing can be hidden from a judge no secret nor sin can ever escape a judge’s eyes. A judge has the ability to weigh your very soul they will see every sin you have ever committed in your life from birth to death. Even royalty is not above the judge’s ruling, everyone is weighed equally from the lowest of whimsums to the greatest of boss monsters. 

This understandably makes others extremely uncomfortable. A judge’s position is a lonely one, that lacks relationships and friends. Even families tend to avoid those who have been blessed (or depending on how you see it cursed) with the title. The judge is a blessing to the underground, they keep the peace and allow for the harmony of all monsters. But magic only ever chooses a judge when all monsters are truly in need of one. The birth of a new judge is not to be taken lightly. They are sent to cleanse and protect monster kind when things have reached a point of being truly dire and corrupt. The judge is both loved and at the same time hated by their people. They are cheered for and cursed all in the same breath. Truthfully, Sans was one of the last monsters that Asgore would have ever thought could become the royal judge. Mainly because of the fact he only had 1hp to his name. 

A cold thought shot through Asgore, normally the royal judge would live in the castle beside the royal family. But since Sans’s title was being hidden, that was not currently possible without bringing up unwanted questions. The judge is its own entity that is exempt from the rulings laid down by royalty. The judge is the very embodiment of the law. The position and power of the judge are ancient, and only ever answer to magic itself. Royalty cannot control the judge, but the royal family is supposed to make sure that those blessed with the title are well cared for. 

Asgore knew that he had failed in that aspect, he had taken more of a hands-off approach when it came to Red. Red was strong after all, magically… But Asgore tended to forget that physically Red was still a 1hp monster. At first, Asgore had wanted to move Sans into the castle, even going so far as to consider using the pretense that Red was a royal courtesan. But before he could implement this plan. Asgore found out that Papyrus had claimed ownership over Red in order to protect his ‘weaker’ older brother. Though rather unorthodox this did seem to keep other monsters away from Red and the smaller skeleton had not complained. So Asgore had deemed it acceptable to leave the judge in the capable hands of his royal guard captain. But maybe that was a mistake? Sans did only have one HP. What if he had been dusted?


	12. Undyne POV

Undyne POV

Undyne was shocked and outraged… Asgore had summoned her for the oddest of reasons. At first, when the king had called upon her Undyne was almost excited. It had been so long since Asgore had summoned her. He used to request her presence all the time for personal sparing practice and the extremely rare conversation over tea. Undyne used to think of Asgore as a type of father figure. He had seen great potential in her at a young age and proceeded to go out of his way to personally trained her while she was still in stripes. He would often praise her when she was young as a form of reward for all of her hard work. Telling her that she was destined for greatness and that one day all her enemies would bow at her feet. Undyne knew that Asgore meant it too, they were not just empty words given by a ruler to please an underling. Asgore had big plans for Undyne and he made it well known that he expected amazing accomplishments from her. Undyne still remembered the rare smiles and soft eyes that Asgore would sometimes show her. At those times Undyne felt as if she really was his daughter. Undyne had always prided herself in knowing that she was one of the only people that had such a personal relationship with the king.

However, their dynamic had changed after Papyrus had defeated her. It had been a moment of great shame for Undyne and she would always carry the physical scars to show for it. Asgore no longer called on her for personal sparing, nor did he summon her for quiet conversations over tea. Undyne would never admit it, but this change in dynamic had hurt her more than any physical wound or defeat. But Undyne understood that she had failed, there was no room for the weak in the underground. Asgore had put so much faith, hope, and time into her training. But all she had to show for it was her own shortcomings and disappointments. Despite this, she could not bring herself to hate Papyrus. He had clearly worked hard and through his own fortitude. Defeated her on equal ground fair and square. Undyne would forever hold a grudge against her replacement, but she also held great undeniable respect for him. They even had friendly spars with one another, or at least as friendly as one could be in this blood-thirsty underground. 

When Asgore had unexpectedly called upon her. Undyne had felt her soul jump with confidence. It had been so long since he had asked to see her. He had not necessarily banished her from the castle, she was still allowed to come and go as she pleased. But Asgore no longer took the initiative to summon her himself. Undyne had thought that perhaps Asgore had wanted to spar like old times. Or possibly that he would like to have one of their rare quiet discussions during teatime. Maybe she had finally been forgiven for her failure? 

But imagine Undyne’s surprise and devastation when instead Asgore had told her that he had a private mission for her. One that she was not allowed to divulge to anyone, not even her captain. Undyne’s single eye widened with despair when Asgore looked upon her with cold unyielding eyes. He stood trident in hand while glaring down at her, Undyne felt the dissatisfaction in his gaze weighing down on her conscious. Asgore stated that if she failed to follow his directions for discreteness, he would personally dust her. Undyne knew from his tone that this was not an idle threat, throughout her life she had seen Asgore dust many monsters who had the misfortune of offending him. She knew that her life was on the line right now. Undyne had quickly dropped her to knees and waited obediently for her commands. But the moment the order had left Asgore’s mouth she had almost bitten off her own tongue in disgust and disbelief. Asgore had ordered Undyne to go find the whereabouts of Red. The moment she located the shorter skeleton, she was to personally transport him directly to the throne room without delay.

Undyne’s mind was racing with protests and questions. Asgore told her to go check on Red of all monsters!? Undyne knew that Papyrus as the captain of the royal guard obviously had ties to the king. Mainly because should anything ever go wrong it was the captain’s job to become the king’s personal security. But why on earth did Asgore want her to go search out Papyrus’s lazy garbage bag of a brother!? He was only a lowly sentry, at the bottom of the metaphorical food chain in more ways than one! Red was known as the most useless monster of the underground, only good for leaching off of his brothers’ power and racking up a huge bar tab at Grillby’s. He was considered walking dust; everyone knew that if not for his brother Red would have been dead long ago. In fact, Undyne herself had wondered how in the stars Red had survived when Papyrus was a child. According to the taller skeleton, Red raised him alone. But if that was the case how on earth had he survived all those years before Papyrus became strong!?

Most families dusted their own members if they had less than 5HP. It was considered a MERCY. Any monster that had 5hp or below would never be able to amount to anything. They would only ever be able to get low-paying jobs, and this if they were lucky! More often than not their fates were to inevitably dust at the hands of stronger monsters for their easy EXP. Even if they survived, they would always be a burden on their family members. Red was the odd exception to that rule. Undyne still had no idea how he had landed a job as a sentry. A sentry was one of the lowest positions that a royal guard could have. But it was still a royal guard position, Red had gotten the job even before Papyrus had defeated her and taken her seat as captain. So Undyne knew it couldn’t have been due to Papyrus’s help or influence. 

It made no sense! Undyne knew that she had fallen from grace, but had she plummeted so much in Asgore’s eyes to the point where she was being used as an errand girl!? Like some type of lowly sentry or a brand-new royal guard who still had yet to prove themselves!? Honestly, Undyne couldn’t stand Red. Not necessarily because Papyrus had taken away her career either. (Though that did not help matters.) Undyne has lost her Position to Papyrus fair and square due to her own shortcoming and weaknesses. There were only three ways that a Captain could be retired from their position. The first one was to be dusted, the second to have their title stripped by royalty, and the third was if they were beaten in battle by a stronger opponent. 

One day Undyne would defeat Papyrus and earn her position back. But until that day she would not allow him to lose his status as Captain. Undyne would be the one to personally dust the tall skeleton monster and take her place as captain of the royal guard back in a wave of glory. But what she could not understand was how someone so strong and capable had such a lazy and weak brother!? Undyne hated weakness, it was better if all vulnerable things were killed for their own sake as well as others. Red was the embodiment of everything that Undyne despised weakness, laziness, and uselessness. That was why Undyne had been sending Asgore formal requests to have Red terminated. She did not want Papyrus to be fired from his position because she wanted to be the one to physically rip him from his seat as captain by her own strength. But Red was free game, it was a way to damaged Papyrus without actually laying a hand on him. Or at least she had thought that Red was expendable until she got this strange order from Asgore. 

Undyne gnashed her teeth and let out a low growl. She had no idea that Sans even knew Asgore in the first place. The king did not just open his doors to anyone. You had to earn the right to be in his presence. Why on earth did she have to go out of her way and look for the bastard Red!? But still, despite her displeasure, Undyne knew better than to question a royal order that came from the king himself. Especially when the obedience towards that Royal order hinged on her very life. Maybe at one point in time, she would have been allowed to inquire about such odd instructions, but she had lost that privilege the moment she had lost her title as captain. Undyne swore though the instant she found the 1 HP piece of garbage she was going to thrash him into the ground before interrogating him about how he of all people was affiliated with the king. Undyne allowed for a sharp-toothed wide grin to spread over her face. Asgore said to bring Red to the throne room the moment she had found him, but the king did not say that Red had to be in one piece. Undyne had a lot of questions and she was going to rip that tiny skeleton apart piece by piece until she got her answers. 

Or at least that had been the plan until Undyne realized that Red was absolutely nowhere to be found. Undyne had known that Red had not been present for his sentry duties for the past three weeks. But the female second in command had simply thought that he was being lazy and skipping out on work. Red’s attitude had not been the best lately after all. It was not below the smaller skeleton to sulk and throw a small tantrum by hiding himself away. Now that Undyne thought about it, maybe that was why Asgore had her checking up on Red? Because she had filed so many formal complaints against the smaller skeleton? Undyne supposed that it was possible, but it still did not completely add up. If that was the case, why was so much discreteness necessary? 

Undyne looked EVERYWHERE and could not find a single sign of bone or eye light of Red. She had looked from the capital all the way to snowdin. Painstakingly checking each and every one of his sentry stations. The only thing that Greeted her was empty mustard bottles and stale water sausage buns. It was obvious that no one had been at these stations for weeks. Asgore had told Undyne that discreteness was necessary, but with no other options left she had to start questioning others if they had seen Red. She simply used the excuse that he was slacking on his job and she needed to retrieve him for his brother. Not a single monster questioned her motives, the lie was swallowed easily. Red was renowned for his laziness after all. Undyne asked everyone and anyone if they had seen the useless bag of bones. But after being constantly told no, she was at a loss. Not even Grillby had seen Red in the past three weeks. Red ALWAYS went to Grillby’s! 

As a last resort, Undyne finally went to Papyrus’s and Red’s house and began to bang on the door, she glanced over at the stuffed mailbox. But there was no response, no matter how hard she pounded on the entrance. In the end, Undyne’s impatience got the better of her. Deciding that she would pay to have the door fixed before Papyrus could see the damage. Undyne kicked in the door to the house as hard as she possibly could. Angrily stomping into the living room cursing to herself that if Red was home, she was going to personally dust him, Papyrus’s anger be dammed. However, Undyne paused when she took note of the interior of the house. The living room was dark, cold, and empty. It had the musty smell of a space that had not been visited in a long time. There was a solid layer of dust on all visible surfaces. No one had been here in a very prolonged period… Just to make sure Undyne checked all the rooms in the home, calling out to Red. But in the end, every room that she examined yielded the same results. 

An abrupt thought shot thru Undyne. Red had been around a long time and it was well known that he was the sole 1 hp monster in the whole underground that was not to be messed with under any circumstances due to his brother Papyrus. But that was just it, Red was simply a 1HP monster… 

Ever since Papyrus had started dating that sickeningly sweet cinnamon roll, he called Blue, it was well known that he began to neglect Red. Everyone in the underground knew that Papyrus was not going home most nights after work. But instead going to his little blue date mate’s house in that other Au… Well, maybe most monsters did not know about the AU part. But Undyne did because she was dating Alphys and was second in command after Papyrus. On top of that Undyne was not a complete idiot, the little Blue skeleton and his lazy-ass brother Stretch looked way too much like Papyrus and Red for it to be a coincidence. They did try to use the excuse that they were distant cousins from the capital. But that made no sense, considering that Undyne had never seen them before in her life. The air around those two was off as well, they were too innocent and naive. Everything about them screamed that they did not belong in the bloody and brutal underground. All it really took was for Undyne to do some serious snooping before the truth came out. She never bothered to attempt to tell anyone else though, the truth was so strange that she doubted anyone would have believed her. Undyne would have just looked like an idiot spouting nonsense in the streets.

What if… someone had finally dusted Sans? It would not be so odd; the smaller skeleton had clearly more or less been abandoned by his brother who was his sole protector, for a newer brighter happier version. Normally Undyne could care less about something like this. Weak monsters got dusted all the time, it was the basic template of the kill or be killed rule. But Sans was different, he had the king himself asking about him. Even if Undyne did not know exactly why that was. On top of that, what was she going to tell Asgore and Papyrus? Undyne knew that despite Papyurs's claims, he really did care about his brother. He would not go through all the trouble to keep Red around if he truly hated him. Though Undyne could not help but quietly think to herself that it was more or less Papyrus’s fault if Red got dusted. Papyrus had lost interest in his older brother the moment he had found a new toy. The taller skeleton had left his older sibling unprotected and out in the open to get trampled on by all the other ruthless residents of the underground. What did he expect would happen?


End file.
